Area Report for Board of Trustees

Thank you for your continued support of Highline College students and programs. During the month of April, the Student Services Division continued advancing work aligned with Highline College’s core themes of Access, Student Learning, Community Partnerships, and Culture and Capacity.

This month’s work reflects both progress and emerging challenges across the division. Key highlights include increased utilization of counseling services, continued expansion of advising and enrollment supports, strong outreach engagement across regional school districts, and ongoing improvements in financial aid access and awarding. At the same time, the division is actively responding to external policy shifts, including significant changes to the TRIO Talent Search federal grant priorities, which may impact future funding for college access programming.

Across departments, efforts remain focused on reducing barriers, strengthening student pathways, and improving institutional processes that support student persistence, completion, and transfer.

Additional details of these efforts and outcomes are provided in the sections below.

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

• Financial Aid continues to demonstrate long-term progress in awarding aid to students. Recent IPEDS data show a steady increase in the percentage of students receiving aid, rising from 35 percent in 2020–2021 to 73 percent in 2024–2025, reflecting expanded access and improved awarding processes.

Source: Highline College IR Website & IR Department

• Workforce and funding programs continue to support access through grant-funded initiatives. The WorkFirst program successfully secured increased funding for 2026–2027, totaling $704,489, expanding support for students with significant financial need. 
• Admissions and Enrollment Services continue to address barriers through high-volume student support, including over 1,200 walk-up students served in March and nearly 9,000 year-to-date interactions. 
• Admissions and Enrollment teams are actively managing application integrity challenges, including a high volume of fraudulent applications, while continuing to process nearly 1,800 spring applications. 
• Registration and enrollment processes continue to support students through structured non-payment drop timelines paired with proactive communication to minimize disruption.

Core Theme 2: STUDENT LEARNING, Increase educational success, collaborate to improve

• Counseling Services experienced significant growth in student demand, with a 23.4 percent increase in scheduled appointments and an 18 percent increase in completed sessions compared to the previous winter quarter, reflecting both increased need and expanded service capacity. 
• Advising services continue to scale impact: 
  • Pathway Advising served 1,759 students in Winter 2026, an approximately 11 percent increase from the prior year. 
  • Registration Labs and workshops saw continued growth, with 92 students served in Winter 2026 compared to 36 in Fall 2025. 
  • Graduation workshops supported nearly 100 students in March, with additional sessions planned for spring. 
  • Academic progress support (SAP) show increasing engagement, with continued growth in Level 2 and appeal-based advising support, helping students remain eligible and persist. 
• Running Start and Entry Advising teams continue to support new student onboarding through orientations, appointments, and high-volume drop-in services, strengthening early academic momentum.

Core Theme 3: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, Create a more inclusive working environment and a more valued , visible relationship with communities we serve

• Outreach and Recruitment teams facilitated 58 events during Winter Quarter and 214 events year-to-date, significantly expanding Highline’s presence across local school districts and community spaces. 
• Highline College participated in large-scale community engagement event STEAM Night with Federal Way Public Schools, which served over 4,000 attendees and highlighted academic pathways across disciplines. 
• Upcoming initiatives include: 
  • Highline Expo (April 16) 
  • Thunder Lab Admission Clinics across multiple school districts (April-May)
• Continued collaboration with K–12 partners support dual-enrollment and early college access, including Running Start application growth and expanded information sessions. 
• The division continues to support the Tukwila Promise and broader regional partnerships that strengthen access and transition pathways into higher education. Will be presenting at Tukwila City Council meeting this month to update the progress. 

Core Theme 4: CULTURE & CAPACITY, Become an anti-racist college through intentional development of employees, facilities, and systems that support student success and close equity gaps

• The division is actively responding to federal policy changes impacting TRIO programs. The newly released TRIO Talent Search grant RFP introduces significant shifts in program priorities and funding criteria, creating potential risk for current programs and requiring strategic adaptation by the grant writing team.
• Cross-departmental collaboration continues to strengthen operational capacity, particularly between Advising, Financial Aid, and Enrollment Services, ensuring more holistic and responsive student support.
• International Student Programs continue to grow, with 317 students enrolled for spring and ongoing improvements to onboarding and activation processes in partnership with ITS.
• Institutional efforts continue to improve systems such as application processing, advising coordination, and student onboarding, all aimed at reducing friction points and improving the student experience.

Division Honors and Achievements

• The WorkFirst program received a significant funding increase for the upcoming fiscal year, recognizing the strength and impact of the program’s work supporting student parents and underserved populations.
• Athletics programs continue active seasons, with softball competing and improving weekly, golf entering league play, and planning underway for the annual T-Bird Classico Golf Tournament in June.
• Student Life continues preparing for major campus-wide events, including Grad Fair, Global Fest, Student Legacy Awards, and Commencement, supporting student engagement and celebration of achievement.

Report submitted by Interim Vice President of Student Services, Tony Garcia