Area Report for Board of Trustees

Academic Affairs concluded a successful 2025–26 academic year with a meaningful commencement celebration of our graduates, their families and communities! As we transition into summer quarter 2026, there are about 350 course sections being taught to support students in continuing their educational goals. A few highlights of this board report include significant growth in Academic Success Center utilization, continued implementation of the new Faculty Advising model, publication of the third volume of In Our Own Words, national recognition of Rus Higley through his selection to the prestigious 2026 STEMSEAS Cohort for Community College Faculty, STEM outreach to local families, continued national recognition of faculty excellence, and the onboarding of Jodi Novotny as Dean of Workforce Pathways.  

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

• To increase departmental visibility and make the most of vital funding, the Academic Success Center (ASC) prioritized strategic cross-departmental alignment. Partnering with the Workforce dean, the center expanded embedded tutoring into rigorous Biology and Chemistry pathways (supporting Prospective Nursing and Pre-Nursing students) while simultaneously collaborating with Umoja, Promise, and MESA to scale critical interventions in high-risk courses (key gateway courses for STEM pathway students). This targeted outreach drove a 45% increase in ASC visits (from 1,600 to 2,332) during Academic year 25-26, directly advancing Core Theme 2 by improving educational success through collaborative innovation.
  
• The new faculty advising model launched in Fall 2025, with the purpose of improving advising access for all students. We created two different ways for faculty to participate, either with a specifically assigned caseload, or through helping with Advising Enrichment activities (group advising activities to improve outreach and access for students who do not have assigned advisors). Although we still have challenges we are moving forward and seeking more ways to make sure that all students have consistent and accurate advising available. In addition to duplicating some events we’ve held this year, we are also looking to provide group advising opportunities targeted to specific populations of students, improve promotion of advising events, and strengthen training and professional development for all advisors. This year we have had a lot of successes with this program:
  • In Spring quarter, we had 109 faculty with assigned caseloads, and 72 signed up to participate in Advising Enrichment
  • Launched a new training program and Canvas resource
  • Strengthened partnerships with all academic advising offices across campus, including Entry Advising, Pathway Advising, TRiO, MESA, the CLCs, ISP, and The Hub, by sharing training resources, co-hosting Advising Enrichment events, and having regular meetings
  • Hosted a variety of Advising Enrichment activities every quarter, including Enrollment Labs with Pathway Advising and The Hub, Advising on the Fly (lunch time drop-in advising in Building 8), helped pilot a New Student Orientation registration lab, provided additional support to Pathway Advising during surge times, and hosted registration events aimed at pre-nursing students
  • Hosted our first quarterly All Advisors Meeting, creating a new opportunity for advising partners across campus to connect and share resources
• On Wednesday June 3, from 1-3 pm, Highline’s D-Center, in conjunction with the Biology (LOGS) Department hosted a greenhouse event. It was attended by more than 20 faculty, staff and students. Some students even brought their family members. The event included three separate activities: creating designs with preserved moss, building succulent mini-gardens and a vegetable giveaway that included tomatoes, beans, squash and various greens. The donations were planted by Woody Moses’s ENVS 101 and BIOL 101 classes. This was the first of these events, but we hope to have more in the future. The event was the brainchild of Xochitl Nevarez, who has been working with the D-Center this year. Associate Dean of Accessibility Resources, Jenni Sandler, and LOGS Dept Lab Supervisor, Mariola Kulawiec both worked closely to make the event a success.

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

• Volume 3 of In Our Own Words: Stories from Immigrant and Refugee Students was published during spring quarter. This book includes stories written by students enrolled during fall quarter 2025 in two Level 3 ESOL classes from Highline College’s ELCAP program. This project would not have been possible without the collaboration of ESOL instructors Dr. Ahmed Fahad and Kristyn Joy, and the support of the HC Foundation and Associate Dean Library and Student Learning Resources, Gerie Ventura. In addition to being available online, five copies of the book are available in the library’s ESL Collection on the 3rd floor. Volume 1 and Volume 2 are also available online and in the library’s collection. Student authors of volume 3 read their stories during a celebration on June 1st. A student from Kristyn Joy’s class, Omar Mendoza, shared his appreciation after the celebration: “Success is not always measured by big achievements, but by the small actions that inspire others to become better every day. I truly feel proud and excited to have been part of this project, which goes far beyond a book: it is an opportunity to give voice, raise awareness, and build empathy. Being part of something that can touch lives and share the stories of migrants and refugees makes this experience deeply meaningful.”

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

• On Saturday, June 22, Highline’s makerspace hosted approximately 15 families for the Bring Your Kid to College (BYKTC) Digital Discovery Zone.  BYKTC is a monthly workshop for children and their parents to explore different topics in STEM on the third Saturday of the month. June was all about computing topics. Parents guided their kids through a series of stations on topics like generative AI images, computational complexity, pixel representations of image data, lockpicking, and more. Families were assisted by volunteers from Highline’s Cybersecurity program and Skunkworks Robotics Club.

Division Honors and Achievements

Rus Higley, Director of the MaST Center Aquarium and part-time STEM faculty, was selected for the competitive 2026 STEMSEAS Cohort for Community College Faculty. From June 7–14, Higley and educators from 14 institutions nationwide sailed from Seward, Alaska, to Newport, Oregon, aboard the research vessel R/V Sally Ride.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, STEMSEAS introduces undergraduate students to oceanography and Earth science careers. Since 2016, the program has paired over 300 students with mentors, expanding its community college reach after a successful 2023 expansion. Back on campus for just over a week, Higley is already collaborating with various Highline departments, including Veterans Services, to recruit students for future expeditions.

• Learn more about the 2026 cohort.
• Learn more about the STEMSEAS program.
• Read the participant blogs, including Rus’ entry, “The Clock on the Wall.“

Welcome to Jodi Novotny, Dean of Workforce Pathways, who started on July 1, 2026. Jodi is eager to work again in South King County after having held several positions at Renton Technical College (RTC) between 2007 and 2021. 

Jodi’s background includes extensive workforce leadership experience at RTC, where she served as Dean of College and Career Pathways for more than a decade and served in long-term interim positions as Vice President for Instruction and Dean of Allied Health. Jodi just wrapped up an interim role at Bellevue College after spending four years working in education and workforce policy at the Markle Foundation and Jobs for the Future (JFF). 

Prior to Jodi’s administrative experience in Washington, she taught in workforce education, adult education (ESOL/GED), Spanish, and linguistics programs within community colleges and four-year institutions in Colorado and Missouri. Jodi has developed partnerships with organizations that are deeply embedded in their communities and is committed to providing high quality and culturally responsive instruction and services to students.

Report submitted by Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Rolita Ezeonu