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Title III

Home/Strategic Plan/Title III
Title III 2025-09-12T19:24:45+00:00
Smiling student at graduation

Title III: Strengthening Institutions Program

Highline College Title III

In October 2021, Highline College was awarded a 5-year, $2.2 million Title III Part A Strengthening Institutions (SIP) grant by the Department of Education. The grant supports the overall programs and projects of Highline College with a specific focus on closing equity gaps in courses and program completions. The goals and strategies of Title III align with Highline’s Strategic Plan for Equitable Student Success.

Highline College’s Title III programs are committed to supporting student success through inclusive and equitable educational practices. All activities, services, and opportunities funded under Title III are open to every student, faculty or staff, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. Highline College upholds all federal nondiscrimination laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Age Discrimination Act.

Title III Contacts:

Jennifer Johnston
Title III Director
(206) 592-3505
jjohnston@highline.edu
Location:
Building 12, Room 121
Title III SIP Strategies
Strategy 1: Implement course specific supports to increase pass rates, retention, and graduation.
  • Embed high impact practices in gateway courses (tutor-mentors, in-class advising, equity & inclusion practices)
  • Implement course-specific Academic Excellence workshops (AEWs) topics and study groups
  • Join e-Tutoring consortium to provide additional online tutoring
  • Infuse work-based learning and employability-related opportunities in pathways
Strategy 2: Increase Campus Data Capacity to support decision-making in closing equity gaps
  • Enhance data infrastructure (increase capacity to analyze data for equity impacts to support timely, actionable decision-making
  • Create dashboards to support a culture of data-informed decision-making to help close opportunity and equity gaps
Strategy 3: Redesign the onboarding process to give students a strong start
  • Hire new entry advisors to provide pre-enrollment advising.
  • Provide undecided student support
    - Explore Highline New Student Orientation
    - College 101
Strategy 4: Transform advising to increase student momentum and completion in chosen pathway
  • Implement 4-Phase Advising Model
  • Implement NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) onboarding and advising recommendations to improve student advising
Strategy 5: Implement Comprehensive Professional Development to close equity gaps
  • Train LTC facilitators in Equity and Inclusion
  • Provide training in data literacy (training in the use of data to address equity gaps)
    Title III SIP Objectives
    Objective 1: Increase pass rates in sections implementing equity and inclusion practices in 6 degree-required core courses: ENGL& 101, MATH 111, MATH& 146, BIOL& 160, CHEM& 121, PSYC& 100
    Objective 2: Increase pass rates in sections implementing equity and inclusion practices in 5 gateway courses:
    ACCTG 121, BUS& 101, CSCI 100, HOST100, HSER 101
    Objective 3: The percent of black students completing 30 credits in their first year will increase to 38%, and the percent of Hispanic students completing 30 credits in their first year will increase to 41%.
    Objective 4: Retention rates will increase to 51% for all first-time, non-Running Start students.
    Objective 5: Full time, first time 6-year graduation rates will increase to 30% and 3-year graduation rates to 40%
    Objective 6: Newly enrolled students will meet with an entry advisor will increase to 80%.
    Objective 7: The number of faculty and staff attending Title III professional development (E&I and data literacy) to close the equity gap will increase to 210.
    Objective 8: The number of faculty who have adopted culturally responsive practices (content and pedagogy) will increase to 170.

    To support the development work for these strategies, Title III is funding

    • Course Level Interventions
    • Entry Advisors
    • Title III Faculty Lead
    • Providing embedded tutors in targeted gateway courses
    • Joining e-Tutoring consortium
    • Faculty development stipends to participate in professional development to improve outcomes
    • Development of a plan to improve service for Moving to Serve
    • Professional development for staff to address Title III objectives
    • Restorative Justice and Trauma-informed practice training for staff and faculty
    • Innovative ways to ensure all students succeed

    Title III will occasionally have funds available for proposals that address the objectives listed above. Priority will be given to proposals addressing Objectives 1, 2, and 3. Feel free to discuss proposals with Title III Director Jennifer Johnston or Faculty Lead, Sangeeta Sangha.

    Funding Request Form

     

    Title III is advised by a Steering Committee bringing perspectives connected to the strategies:

    The contents of this website were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.