Highline College was officially denied reconsideration to continue their Title III funding from the Department of Education, effectively ending the school’s federal Title III grant, jeopardizing funding for multiple college support services.
Right before the start fall quarter, Highline was notified by the Department of Education (DOE) about the non-continuation of Highline’s Title III Strengthening Institutions (SIP) grant, ending the grant funding a year early. Highline’s SIP grant funds various services and departments, and the college is offering to cover salaries until alternative funding is found or reconsideration is granted.
The college submitted its request for reconsideration last Monday. Wednesday, in a letter to the college, The Executive Cabinet (EC) confirmed that on Sept. 30 they were notified that DOE’s decision is “final and will not be reconsidered. This action ended the grant one year early, on the final day of our fourth year.”
In a letter to the college, the DOE stated the following as rational for their decision to revoke the Title III grant: “Department staff identified that the [Highline College] has proposed project activities that conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education.
“Specifically, [Highline College] has an equity strategies lead with a responsibility to, ‘Offer professional development workshops in equity and inclusion,’ …As a result of the information identified above, the Department has determined that continuation of the project is not in the best interest of the Federal Government.”
In an email sent Wednesday, Sept. 24 to staff and faculty, EC wrote, “While not completely unexpected, this decision is very disappointing… Some activities and departments that receive support from Title III are Entry Advising, Institutional Research, embedded tutoring, and faculty and staff professional development.”
“Highline College successfully operated its Title III SIP grant program for four years to the benefit of 17, 539 students, over 12,000 of whom are low income for first generation college students.”
In the Wednesday email sent from the EC wrote, “As we stated over the summer, if grant funded programs face loss of funding, the college will continue to cover salaries and benefits for grant-funded positions for up to 60 days while we figure out future options.”
In a follow up email from the EC Highline reaffirmed their intention to support federally funded programs. The email stated, “We are continuing to monitor the situation and minimize disruptions for staff and students should a shutdown occur, however, we do acknowledge that all of our federally funded programs will be impacted, including Adult Education Grants, Perkins, WorkFirst, BFET, TRIO and Federal Financial Aid.
“Please know that, at the moment, we will be able to continue to fully support federally funded programs, including financial aid, basic education, and grant-funded programs. Should a potential shutdown last more than a few weeks, we may need to reevaluate, but we are hopeful that will not be necessary.”
The ThunderWord will work on gathering more information from the Title III team and EC in the coming weeks.
Colleges across America originally received warning of Title III funding being revoked in the weeks prior as the DOE targets schools that do not align with the Federal Administration. University of Hawaii received similar letters from the DOE, and shared where funding will be cut from in a statement on Sept. 18.
The Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan policy institute, compiled data across multiple government agencies into a tracker for funding cuts to colleges and universities across the nation, as of Summer 2025.
**Mavrie has been serving as editor for the ThunderWord since 2024. She is also the founding president of Highline’s Non-fiction Writers Circle.