After months of uncertainty following the loss of a major federal Title III grant, the Academic Success Center (ASC) at Highline College has secured new funding to keep the ASC in operation. The solution came when interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Rolita Ezeonu identified emergency funds to support, offering a possible lifeline to students and staff. 

When Highline’s appeal to retain the funding was denied, the Director of the Academic Success Center Sheena Hendrix began the search for any possible alternative. “Entry advising teams, embedded tutoring, e-tutoring, all these things are funded by Title III,” Hendrix explained. 

To reduce costs, the ASC considered reducing tutoring hours and cutting back on embedded tutors. “Most people don’t understand what funds what,” Hendrix said. “They think it comes straight from the college, but there are a lot of grants that support student services.” 

Demand for tutoring continued to increase, especially in high impact courses like math, science, and English, as well as organizations such as Umoja and Juntos. Internal data showed Black and brown students made significant gains with embedded tutors’ support, highlighting the increasingly serious potential loss. 

“The hard thing about it is, we’re students facing. We’re student servicing. Regardless of who’s coming in, we want to retain those students,” said Hendrix, summarizing the loss. “Title III courses are a list of courses identified that Black and brown students are failing … [With Title III services] we’ve seen [these students] drastically improve.”

She drafted an email that detailed the risk of loss of crucial student support to Dr. Ezeonu. “I sent one last Hail Mary pass,” said Hendrix. “Something told me, let me just email Dr. E.” 

Simply wanting Dr. Ezeonu to hear directly from the affected party, Hendrix was unsure of any support she would receive. Determined, Hendrix wanted to exhaust every avenue available to her. 

Dr. Ezeonu responded with a personal message expressing she’d act on finding a solution. Hendrix emphasized, “That [text response] was something I’ve never before experienced in my career.” Days later, a more actionable response was received. 

Within days, good news had arrived. Dr. Ezenou’s office confirmed they were able to offer $20,000 in one-time contingency funds to sustain embedded tutoring through the academic year. The funds prioritized high-impact courses such as MATH 111, MATH&146, ENGL&101, CHEM&121, BIOL&160. 

“It could have been $15, I didn’t care … we [now] have something. Really that helps,” said Hendrix. “Sometimes you’ve got to get your older sibling to help you in the fight … [Rolita] really just jumped in … The only thing I regret about it is not sending [my email] sooner.”

Speaking of the true motivation behind her actions, Hendrix said, “I walk by these students every day, I want to see them at graduation.” 

Though the relief is temporary, Hendrix and her team are now working closely with Academic Affairs to advocate for long-term investments in tutoring and student support. Hendrix’s mission will always remain the same: Support every student that walks through these doors.