Area Report for Board of Trustees

Happy New Year! As we kick off 2025, I am excited to share some of the wonderful things happening at Highline College. This report includes highlights from the past month and updates on our work to support students and strengthen our community. Together, we are making strides toward our goals of expanding access, supporting learning, building community, and growing our capacity. Here is a year full of progress and new opportunities!

• On December 11, 2024, I attended the pinning ceremony for the nursing program. There was a full cohort that graduated. Along with families and friends, faculty, and staff from across the college community were present to celebrate the graduates.
• I serve on Washington State’s MESA board. Friday, December 13-Saturday, December 14 held an advisory board meeting and retreat; I attended virtually. The focus of the retreat was Washington MESA legislative advocacy progress. Specifically, we discussed the following:
  • Overview of the State of Washington: Current Landscape
  • Review of WA MESA legislative objectives year 1 roadmap
  • Progress so far and upcoming steps

Further, board members on site for the meeting at Eastern Washington University took a tour of the new campus MESA site and resources, which happen to be affiliated with the Computing and Engineering Building (CEB). Given that Highline College has a MESA program, the information that I garner from serving on the Washington MESA Board is beneficial toward helping to enhance the growth and development of the MESA program here. I share what I have learned with Dr. Larder and with Timur Kuzu, MESA Program Director. For your review, here is a link to the meeting & retreat agenda.

• On December 16, 2024, Dr. Lardner and I meet with faculty who attended the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) conference in late November to debrief on what we heard and learned. The conversation was robust and essential. Faculty and staff across the college community are strategically focused on understanding all aspects of accreditation.

During the November conference, I was able to attend the Presidential Workshop: Academic Leadership in the Context of Change. During this workshop, institutional leaders engaged in a conversation with national thought leaders on extant issues, including the impact on American higher education on the recent presidential and congressional elections, governance, employability, and DEI. I was also able to attend part of the New Peer Evaluator Workshop with Dr. Lardner. During that session, NWCCU staff and peer evaluation team chairs conducted a comprehensive workshop into the principles and practices of accreditation, including NWCCU’s Standards for Accreditation, Eligibility Requirements, and the accreditation cycle. Attendees learned best practices for conducting evaluations, writing reports, and providing valuable feedback to institutions.

• In mid-December, the Athletic Director (AD) John Dunn, Dr. Pham, and I meet to discuss athletic waivers in preparation for the proposal that will be presented to the Board of Trustees at the January 2025 Board meeting.
• Vice President Josh Gerstman and I attended the Southside Alliance Policy Committee meeting on December 18, 2024. This committee is comprised of regional mayors of Des Moines and Tukwila; Councilmembers from SeaTac, Tukwila, and Burien; City Manager from Normandy Park, Commissioner from the Port of Seattle, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, and Highline College representatives. Members met and debriefed details discussed at the retreat on 10/2/2024. We reviewed and considered the new mission statement, and we discussed the workplan for 2025, which includes the following:
  • Focus on project-based initiatives
  • Establish workforce development council relationship in 2025
  • Continuity of support for Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)

The next meeting is June 26, 2025.

• On December 19, 2024, I talked with Mishel Corea, Central Washington University (CWU) Regional Director. We identified a date (January 21, 2025) for the new CWU provost to meet with Highline College’s Executive Cabinet. Prior to that meeting, the Executive Cabinet will identify key topics, including MOU’s and transfer agreements, to discuss during the 90-minute meeting.
• On January 6, 2025, Dr. Lardner and I met with the Tukwila Mayor, Tukwila Superintendent, Principal of Foster High School, and other Tukwila SD members to discuss Tukwila Promise. The goal of the meeting was to identify will be the core members to foster the program to fruition. Tukwila SD and Highline College would like to see the Tukwila Promise initiated and serving students as early as fall quarter 2025.

Kind regards,

Dr. Jamilyn Penn

Information Technology Services

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY, Create capacity for meaningful strategic planning and institutional transformation through intentional development of employees, facilities, and systems that support student success and close equity gaps

• IT Services and Purchasing are preparing to launch a significant upgrade to our printing and copying hardware and software across campus. We have been working for some time to identify the best option available to the college under current state print management contracts, with the goal of updating current hardware and systems and providing a more efficient and streamlined way for the college to provide printing services. The initial phase of this project includes replacing all multi-function devices (MFDs) across campus, as well as implementing a new software tool to manage printing, which will come with some additional benefits such as mobile printing and the ability to tap in with an access card to make copies or release print jobs, as well as scanning directly to Google Drive or OneDrive in addition to scanning to email. The new equipment is on order and our teams are working with the supplier to configure the software and perform some final testing and ensure that all works as expected prior to rolling out to campus.  We expect all of the new machines to be installed and operational by the end of February.
• A college-wide workgroup on AI issues is being formed during winter quarter. Co-chaired by Dr. Lardner and Tim Wrye, this group will be charged with drafting a policy that provides the foundational framework required to support a sustainable, safe, and ethical integration of AI tools, and specifically GenAI, across the organization. This group will also be responsible for identifying and coordinating with subgroups on developing procedures and guidance under the policy to address issues related to the use of GenAI at Highline College including, but not limited to, data and security, licensing and funding, operational use cases, and staff training needs.

It is with mixed feelings that IT Services is saying thank you and farewell to Justin Pedersen.  Justin has been at Highline for nearly 15 years, originally as a student, and as a member of the IT Services staff for over a decade, most recently as a System Administrator in the IT Infrastructure and Systems Administration department.  Justin’s skills, creativity, and adaptability have been a valuable asset to the division and the institution through his time here, including playing a key role in helping our Computer Information Systems class labs pivot to fully virtual student support during the pandemic.  Justin is leaving us to pursue further opportunities in the private sector, and we will miss him dearly but wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Human Resources

December was a very busy month for transactional functions such as leave of absences, ADA requests, and many employee relations consultations. These tasks in the future will mainly be managed by the open HR Business Partner role. We had a failed search this round and are still searching for the right candidate with the right skill set to fill this critical role.

I am also happy to share that Naomy Hernandez-Meraz has stepped into the role of Human Resource Consultant Assistant 2. She has mastered her current front desk role and has expressed a desire to learn more about the HR function. We are happy to train and encourage her growth at Highline.

With limited resources, the HR team is working diligently to maintain operations with minimal service interruptions. I cannot express how proud I am that this team comes in everyday willing to jump in and support one another to ensure seamless HR functionality.

Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members

• Despite pending issues with OFM and WPEA, in an effort to maintain communication and collaboration, Highline has scheduled a series of 3 bargaining sessions with WPEA in January. The goal is to hear and understand their concerns and work toward developing a plan to meet their needs. The first session will be January 15^th.

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY, Create capacity for meaningful strategic planning and institutional transformation through intentional development of employees, facilities, and systems that support student success and close equity gaps

• HR has provided the Instruction Cabinet workshop #2 on anti-bias in recruitment training. This training focused on focusing on personal and professional biases when reviewing the application. The next training will be on identifying biases during the interview.

Office of The President

Title III

Based on discussion with the Title III Steering Committee and external evaluator in November, Title III is adjusting its focus for academic interventions. Five of the 11 originally identified gateway courses (within objectives 1 and 2) are not meeting targets for pass rates and equity gaps. Therefore, instead of an “all call” structure of Communities of Practice and embedded tutoring, Title III is working closely with teachers of the five courses to see how they would like to bolster student success in their sections. Each of the five courses has suggested specific interventions, most of which will be launched winter quarter.

E-tutoring continues to be a widely used resource, offering tutoring during hours the Academic Success Centers aren’t usually open.

Embedded tutoring continues to slowly develop, with the math resource center director providing extra hours to match tutors and instructors.

These interventions fit with the Guided Pathways pillars of “Stay on the Path” and “Ensuring Learning”.

Title III also supports Entry Advising, which supports the GP pillars of Clarifying the Path and Entering the Path. Entry Advising exceeded objective 6 (number of new students meeting with an Entry Advisor) in Year 3 and continues to be a beacon of welcome for new students.

Title III is now supporting several staff to enhance objective 3: Black and Hispanic students completing 30 credits in the first year. Gaby Osorio, Latinx Success Program manager, serves all Latinx students and guides the Juntos cohort. Winter and Spring quarters 2025, Dr. Erich Elwin will serve as Faculty Lead for Black Student Success, guiding faculty on specific strategies to improve outcomes for Black students. Title III also covers a portion of the new Associate Dean of Innovation, Transformation and Student Support, Mariela Barriga as she takes over leadership of Highline’s Moving To Serve, the process of becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution.

Title III has exceeded objectives 7 and 8 concerning Professional Development around data literacy, antiracism, culturally responsive, and inclusive pedagogy for faculty and staff.

Title III Director Jennifer Johnston welcomes Board of Trustees questions and feedback any time! jjohnston@highline.edu 206-592-3505.

Title IX

Core Theme 1: ACCESS, Reduce Barriers and close equity gaps to access for all community members

• The Office of Title IX’s primary objective for the 2024-25 academic year is to administer campus compliance under the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, and Washington State’s Law Against Discrimination and their implementing regulations. We had a rough start to training this academic year due to challenges with our new online training platform, however I am extremely proud of the progress made by our staff and faculty at completing their online trainings once they became available. As of Jan, 8, 2025, 50% of our twelve hundred employees (including adjunct faculty) have successfully completed the Building Supportive Communities: Clery Act and Title IX Training module

I want to extend my gratitude to HCEA leadership for successfully partnering with me in developing a process for our adjunct faculty to receive stipends for the time spent on their training. I think that this collaboration served as a great incentive for this employee group to prioritize their training in a timely manner while also ensuring fair compensation for their time.

In the coming month I will begin communicating with department and division heads on how they can further support their direct reports in completing their required trainings. I will also be partnering with Sheena Hendrix in the Academic Success Center to bring in-person training to their 100 + student employees.

• In 2023-24 Highline College was selected by SBCTC to participate in a Voluntary Civil Rights Review. Following strong collaboration and communication with our reviewer and many departments from across campus, all recommended changes from our voluntary compliance plan are scheduled to be complete by end of fall quarter. A copy of the voluntary compliance plan is available for the board if they are interested in reading the details. No major findings appeared in the review.

Division Honors and Awards

• The Office of the President welcomes Marggiory Davila as our new Customer Service 3 representative! In the years since our return from lockdown, the OTP had managed to staff our front desk with an “all hands on deck” team effort due to slow foot traffic in our building. As enrollment began trending upward, the need for a full time CS3 became quite clear. When the option to welcome Marggiory presented itself, I jumped at the opportunity. Marggiory’s experience in Entry Advising and her strong knowledge of campus offerings is already making a strong impact on the level of customer service visitors receive. Welcome to the team Marggiory!

Report submitted by Acting President Dr. Jamilyn Penn