Highline College courses start up for fall quarter on Sept. 25. For anyone who is still thinking about registering, enrollment for fall quarter opened on May 22, and there is still time to apply.

Ahead of the school year, Highline College has some updates to celebrate, including a new vice president. Dr. Maribel Jimenez will oversee the college’s equity, diversity and inclusion efforts and began in the role on July 17.

“My passion has been and continues to be doing my part in creating an institution where students, faculty and staff feel like they can be their whole selves without having to leave any of their intersecting identities at the door,” said Jimenez in a prepared statement.

These values are reflected in programs to increase access for more students, like the revamped entry advising and student onboarding process that underwent drastic changes and streamlining in 2021, according to Raechel Dawson, associate director of communications at Highline.

“This year, Entry Advising held new student orientations in Spanish and is currently partnering with Highline’s Workforce Education Services to provide funding application support in multiple languages,” Dawson said. “On a regular basis, entry advisors assist new and returning students on their admissions application, help them explore funding options, determine English and math placement, activate student accounts, select a Degree Pathway, host new student orientations, connect students to resources and provide one-on-one appointments.”

The Federal Way HUB is another program that was created to provide better access for students.

The HUB is located at 1615 S. 325th St. in Federal Way and is a Higher Education Center that “provides access to post-secondary and adult education to the Federal Way community,” according to their website. It was created through a partnership with Highline College, the University of Washington Tacoma, the City of Federal Way and Federal Way Public Schools.

“Sometimes people just need that one person they feel comfortable with in order to take the step to start school,” said Jenée Stanfield, program specialist, in an interview. “If you can get a student to trust you, they’ll keep coming back even if you are not technically the ‘right’ person to talk to.”

The HUB has advised 108 students from fall to spring of last school year.

The HUB has been off to a strong start and demand for their programs has led to more offerings. They expect to increase the number of classes offered by 50 percent this fall compared to 2022. One of their most popular courses is their English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. Three sections of entry-level classes for English are active now, which translates to roughly 80 students.

The HUB is also seeing high enrollment of part-time Running Start students who take college courses while still in high school. This is likely because the HUB’s proximity makes it easier to travel to and from their high school for other classes and activities, according to Tammy Hauge, Director of the HUB. About 41 percent of their students came through Running Start last year.

Other program changes at Highline College have been made ahead of the 2023-2024 school year that are intended to provide better access for more students.

Highline has a new partnership with Amazon Careers to offer an education benefit to eligible employees. This includes staff who work at the Amazon Fresh location that opened in Federal Way in August 2022.

Whether a student is a participant in the Amazon Career program or not, Highline offers over 100 degrees and certificates through their pathways system that allows students to explore their own career and education goals.

These pathways also include seven different applied bachelor programs and a variety of different tracks to complete degrees at other four year colleges.

Stanfield wants community members to know that if their dream is to go to college, it is accessible and that they can use the HUB as a place to start. To prospective students, she wants them to remember: “You don’t have to be afraid. It’s okay if you don’t know all the terms or don’t know all the steps. We are here to help.”