Area Report for Board of Trustees

The division of Student Services operates on 3 Core Functions: Access, Supporting Student Success, and Engagement with a focus on equity.  

The goals of student services for the 2021-2022:

• Goal 1: Strategic Enrollment
• Goal 2: Service Delivery Excellence
• Goal 3: Development & Integration of (EDI) Framework 

Focus Areas:

Student Access, Retention, and Success

Advising, Career and Student Employment (CASE), High School Programs and Running Start

• The Running Start Program was approved to continue offering the Dual Enrollment Scholarship for eligible students for a 2nd year. Data shows students who access the dual enrollment scholarship for textbook assistance earn more credits and are more likely to pass at least one class than students who are eligible but have not accessed the scholarship.
• Career Services and Student Employment are being integrated into the Advising, Transfer and Career Services department. This integration of units is intended to ensure students experience career exploration and career development in the context of academic and transfer planning as part of the Guided Pathways framework. This holistic approach to academic, career and transfer planning also reduces the need for additional referrals and streamlines the enrollment process for students entering college.

Athletics

• Fall Season begins August 1st, first games begin August 20
• Teams are very full (Soccer M 28 / Soccer W 23 / Volleyball 13 / Golf 5
• In the process of hiring new head coaches for Softball & Wrestling

Campus View

• Campus View is pushing marketing and partnerships to return to pre-pandemic occupancy numbers.
• Campus View is planning to ramp-up in-person programming and resident interactions throughout the upcoming Academic Year.
• Campus View hopes to re-engage various campus offices to bring academic support and student services to residents in the building.

Counseling

• The Counseling team in partnership with Dave O’Keeffe applied for the CTC Counseling Pilot Program on August 12th. If selected the pilot would fund an additional FT Counselor who will provide direct counseling services to students and further build partnerships with area community mental health agencies.
• The Counseling Center opened for in-person services in addition to tele-therapy for three weeks in August. Students were slow to transfer back to in-person counseling sessions citing anxiety around the Delta variant. The Counseling Center anticipates more students returning in the fall and will continue to offer both in-person counseling and tele-therapy.

Enrollment and Veterans

• The Veterans Services Office successfully passed an audit by the U.S. Veterans Benefits Administration. The Business Office/Student Financials assisted with providing information for the auditor and ensuring Highline remains in compliance. The VSO was able to maintain compliance with federal regulations, navigating several changes to policy, a transition to remote operations and record keeping, and implementation of a new student records system (ctcLink).
• New federal legislation (Isakson and Roe) requires institutions to provide financial aid shopping sheets to students using VA educational benefits to inform students of total costs of attendance, the availability of financial aid, institutional completion rates, timelines and requirements for graduation, and points of contact for financial, academic and disability counseling.
• As of August 10th, 406 degrees posted for Spring, bringing the annual total degrees conferred for the 20-21 academic year to 1067. The Credentials Evaluators will complete review of the Spring graduation applications by Sep. 2nd.
• Services are being provided remotely and in-person as of August 2nd. Hours of operation for in-person services will be extended beginning September 7th following our August soft opening.

International Student Programs

• New partnership in process with EdAgree
• Kyrgyzstani partnership has developed the past 2 years.  They have expanded their small operation and is actively recruiting for Highline specifically at this time. We anticipate 15 applications for this upcoming Spring which is a lot for that country.
• Organizing website wireframes and making final decisions on the structure of our mainland Chinese website.
• Working with the printshop to finish our playing card designs for fall quarter
• Chinese domain name has been decided upon and soon to be purchased by ITS
• New partner EduCo, focused on digital recruitment. Working to craft pieces and supply accurate info for their external, student facing website.
• Developed Visa workshop sessions with admissions for new prospective students including mock visa interviews
• Participating in discussions with other international program office leaders in WA state to revive Study Washington initiative and group. Opportunity to make contributions to group to keep us relevant and receive continued opportunities with the group moving forward if we can act soon.

Student Support and Funding Services

• The Fall COVID-19 Financial Relief Fund application is now open. Funded by the American Rescue Plan (aka Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund/HEERF III), students who are experiencing COVID-19 related disruption may apply and receive up to $1,500 in Fall quarter. HEERF Funds (CARES, CRRSAA, and now ARP) have provided over 3.2 million dollars in direct student aid since May 2020.
• The TRiO Director Eileen Jimenez, Student Support Center Director Mariela Barriga, and Dean Saechao are currently building the CARES Scholars Support program. Funded by HEERF Institutional Funds, the program will hire 5 part-time Retention and Referral Advisors to provide case management to approximately 250 students. Students served will receive proactive holistic services, which in addition to HEERF student aid funding, is needed now more than ever. The goal of the program is to increase quarter-to-quarter student retention.

Student Life

• The Clubs Program in Center for Leadership and Service has remained active over the summer offering smaller selections of opportunities for students to get engaged outside of the classroom.
• Spill Some Ink: A Creative Writing Club continues to meet Thursdays 1pm-2pm. Zoom Passcode: 119305. Students should come prepared to write. The club will provide prompts, opportunities to study other writers, and build community. New writers are welcome! The goal is to support Highline writers at all stages of their journey in developing their skills.
• Highline College Paralegal Association hosted Coffee Break Series: Court Processes on August 3, 2021, 3pm-4pm
• The Center welcomes back 20+ student leaders for the annual Fall Student Leadership Training on August 30th.  Embracing a hybrid model of training this year, The Center has taken safety precautions to keep our team safe during any in-person training days.
• The Center is gearing up for ThunderWeek, September 27–October 1, 2021. As the campus eagerly opens back up, CLS and CCIE will offer a week of programs to welcome all Highline students at the beginning of each quarter. During ThunderWeek, staff, faculty and students can connect with eachother, learn about ways to get involved at Highline, and celebrate being a Highline community member. This year’s theme is A Map to Community.
• The Center is ready to kick start the The CONNECT Program for Fall 2021! CONNECT is a community of students engaged in leadership opportunities across Highline College while building skills, confidence, and connections with other students and campus resources. Each month during the academic year, the CONNECT Program will offer Thunderbird Thursdays, leadership workshops offered one Thursday each month. The first Thunderbird Thursday will be part of ThunderWeek on September 30, 2:30–4 p.m.
• Save the date: LGBTQIA Week, October 11-14, 2021. LGBTQIA Week is a programming series of educational events and activities exploring LGBTQIA identity and social justice issues; in addition, celebrates and remembers the history of the gay rights movement and is held in October to recognize National Coming Out Day.
• Save the date: Disability Justice Week, November 1-5, 2021. In partnership with Access Services, Disability Justice Week centralizes the intersectionality of the disability experience through a social justice framework.

Professional Development

Counseling

• Nicole Hoyes Wilson presented “Trauma-Informed Communication Strategies” to the Joint Information Committee on August 9th 2021.
• Nicole Hoyes Wilson co-facilitated a training last week for instructors teaching the new College 101 course this fall.

Student Support and Funding Services

• Three new positions have been created recently: Student Housing & Retention (SHoRe)  Specialist, United Way Benefits Hub Coordinator, and Financial Aid Director. The SHoRe Specialist will work closely with the Director of Student Support Center, Mariela Barriga in the creation of the SHoRe program, which is funded by the Support Students Experiencing Homelessness grant. We plan for these positions to be filled within the next couple of months.

Staff

Athletics 

• Hired a new Assistant AD – Makoa Rosa

Counseling

• The Counseling Center looks forward to welcoming Charlie Stone who will serve as a Counseling Intern for the full 2021-2022 school year. They are in their last year of graduate school at SU studying mental health counseling.
• Daryllyn Harris, Faculty Counselor, will be returning from family leave in the Fall. Both Daryllyn and Joshua Magallanes will be entering their second year of the tenure process.

Report submitted August 30, 2021, by Vice President Aaron Reader