Area Report for Board of Trustees

The Student Services Division is doing an exceptional job of providing intentional and holistic support for the Highline College Students. As usual, the report for the division is lengthy, as there is so much good work taking place across the large division.

In this report, I would like to draw the BOT’s attention to significant increase in the number of requests for meetings that the Counseling Department has received from students needing mental health support.

Additionally, I encourage the BOT to learn more about new legislative changes that will impact Running Start students, especially during summer quarter 2024. The legislative changes could mean that the College will have an opportunity to leverage the increase in calculation for Running Start FTE, from 1.2 FTE to 1.4 FTE, and projected increases in Running Start student enrollment to its benefit.

Finally, I recommend that the BOT recognize the efforts that the Women’s Programs Department is making to support families with technology and with addressing the needs of families during the Holiday Season. Happy Holidays!

Women’s Programs WorkFirst Services

• Women’s Program WorkFirst Services introduced a new community partner to campus, Excess Telecom. The company will help students and their families obtain a free phone or tablet equipped with SIM and data plan. The department is hosting the annual Giving Tree Event to provide low-income single parent households and their child(ren) with gifts, joy and cheer during the holidays.  The Support Center, Institutional Advancement, and Women’s Program WorkFirst Services is c intends to submit a grant proposal for housing and support funds through the King County Regional Homeless Authority. The grant is due spring quarter 2024.

Office of Community Standards & Student Conduct

• Isabelle Wroblewski, Associate Director of Community Standards & Student Conduct attended the Washington State Student Conduct Academy to gain further knowledge on the formal adjudicative hearing process from a robust team of our Assistant Attorney Generals
• Student Integrity Ambassadors hosted a Consent workshop for student peer education with over 12 students showing up to learn more about consent.

TRiO Student Support Services

• TRiO Student Support Services celebrated the National First-Generation Day (November 8th) with the Highline College First-Generation Student Panel. Facilitated by Dean Saechao. Six TRiO student alumni shared their experiences navigating and exploring their first-gen identity at Highline College and beyond.
• TRiO Student Support Services and the Undocumented Student Taskforce hosted the Paying for College Night on November 1, 2023 to assist students in preparation for the 2024-2025 FAFSA and WASFA.

Retention & Completion Services

• Sarijana Clark and Dean Saechao hosted the Academic Standards Policy Information Session to share how the policy is currently being implemented, and to gather feedback from campus.  Further, Dean Saechao along with Title III Director are currently leading the Academic Standards Policy (ASP) Subcommittee to develop new policies, procedures, and operations to better serve students with academic challenges. The first meeting took place in November and final recommendations will be shared campus-wide by Spring Quarter 2024.

Counseling

• The Counseling Department scheduled 404 appointments during the fall quarter. That is 120 more scheduled appointments than Fall 2022, indicating a growth 42.25%. Counseling staff have been able to manage the increased student mental health needs, because of the support of the new Counseling Program Coordinator and Director of Counseling. These two positions have allowed faculty Counselors the bandwidth to focus on meeting with students rather than taking on other roles and duties.

• Counseling staff facilitated two Mental Health First Aid training sessions, certifying 12 staff and faculty.

Athletics

• Men’s Soccer won the West Region / Finished 2nd in NWAC / Coach Mohn is Coach of the Year
• Women’s Volleyball won the West Region / Finished 4th in NWAC / Coach Littlemen is Coach of the Year
• Women’s and Men’s Basketball, winter sports, started November 18, 2023.

Advising and Enrollment

• Per legislation, Running Start FTE has increased from 1.2 to 1.4 FTE, per student enrolled and taking 15 credits or more. Also, Running Start students are now eligible to take up to 21 credits per quarter, depending upon high school enrollment status.
• Statewide Running Start changes are on the horizon across the SBCTC system. For example, during summer quarter, high school juniors (rising seniors) will be permitted to take up to 10 credits, depending upon high school enrollment.
• Summer Running Start opportunity will commence in 2024. High school juniors will be permitted to take up to 10 credits if they did not use all available credits during the standard academic year. High school sophomores will be permitted to take up to 10 credits in the summer. Graduating seniors can take college courses throughout the academic year and summer to earn enough credit required to graduate.
• Dean Knappenberger and CIO Tim Wry are currently working with the Outreach & Recruitment Team to build the first Customer Relationship Management (CRM) pipelines to assist with recruitment effort. One pipeline will be associated with Highline’s general interest inquiry webform and another will be associated with contacts the team makes in our community and various events.
• Entry Advising and Jump Start staff collaborated to facilitate support for student transitions from English Language Career and Academic Prep (ELCAP) to degree and certificate programs. Additionally, Entry Advising staff are developing a new online student orientation tool to expand the reach of orientation and provide a foundation for other programs at Highline to conduct program-specific orientations.

Student Life

• Student Life in partnership with Counseling secured a grant for emergency contraceptive vending. Partnering with Campus Safety, Book Store, and the budget office, they plan to have emergency contraception vending on campus by the end of the fiscal year.
• Associated Students of Highline College (ASCH) hosted the Legislative Breakfast on November 29^th.
• Emma Therkildsen was recognized as Student of the Month for October 2023
• The Center for Cultural and Inclusive Excellence (CCIE) hosted the 4^th annual Disability Justice Week November 6^th-9^th.

Report submitted by Interim Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Jamilyn Penn