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Though it wasn’t always easy, Ramla Geilani is proud to say she’s graduating this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped her college experience and made things harder, she said.
“The hardest thing about graduating college during a pandemic was starting to lose motivation,” Geilani said. “Us college students didn’t really get to experience the regular college experience this past year and a half due to the pandemic.”
And even before classes went remote, it took some time for her to adjust to Highline.
Mary Belay is ready to shut her laptop and get back into the classroom.
When she first made the decision to attend Highline two years ago, she didn’t expect to be spending more hours on Zoom than on campus. And adjusting to the new learning environment proved to be a challenge.
Local city council elections in the city of Burien will feature four contested races this year in the August primary.
City governments provide a variety of services, such as taking care of parks, police, planning, and maintaining local roads.
The city of Burien has the council-manager form of government, in which the mayor does not exercise executive authority.
For those who spend any time on campus, don’t take your mask off just yet.
Despite new guidance from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and Gov. Jay Inslee lifting mask requirements for fully vaccinated people in many places, Highline will continue to enforce a mask mandate for individuals who are on campus, said Nicki Bly, who is the public health director at Highline.
The hospitality industry is experiencing a labor shortage because of changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Highline Professor Justin Taillon.
Taillon, who is program manager for the Hospitality and Tourism Management Department at Highline, said the industry has experienced many changes over the last year, but one of the biggest has been the newly increased number of job openings.
Highline is ready to welcome some students back on campus this fall, but things will look much different than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
A recent announcement from the office of Highline’s President Dr. John Mosby said, “When fall quarter begins, we can expect approximately 25 percent of classes to have some form of on-campus component. Currently, 67 courses will be offered in-person across a wide variety of subject areas.”
Highline will host multiple YELL summits next month, including — for the first time — one for white allies.
The YELL (Young Educated Ladies Leading) summit was founded seven years ago, said Rashad Norris, who is Highline’s director of Community Engagement and co-founder of the event.
The city of Federal Way will soon see a new resource center intended to provide educational services to individuals in the community, particularly Highline students.
Called the Hub (full name: The Hub: Federal Way Higher Education Center), the center will be a “small extension of Highline’s main campus [and] function as a welcome center of sorts,” said Tammy Hauge, who is the center’s program manager.
If you’re able to, go get the COVID-19 vaccine, said Highline Public Health Director Nicki Bly.
Bly, who is a respiratory therapist and the former director of the Respiratory Care program at Highline, said getting vaccinated is a key step in ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highline’s new ctcLink computer system and pandemic fatigue are to blame for lower enrollment in spring, college officials said this week.
Spring Quarter began Monday, April 5. Most classes remain online, where they’ve been for the past year, following Gov. Jay Inslee’s March 2020 announcement canceling in-person classes across the state.
Highline may see fewer sexual harassment hearings because of planned changes to the student conduct code.
These changes are in response to new federal guidelines regarding Title IX, specifically as it pertains to complaints of sexual misconduct.
Highline could see a partial return to live classes in the fall, college officials said this week, but it will depend on what people are comfortable with.
The college will spend the next few months asking students, faculty, and staff what they want to see for Fall Quarter, including a student survey to be conducted March 15-26.
A two-year degree from Highline will make you more money than you would get by studying someplace else.
Highline was recently ranked No. 25 on a nationwide list of the best colleges for salary for an associate degree.
After weeks of unsuccessful negotiations and threats of legal action, teachers in the Highline School District have agreed to resume in-person instruction starting today, March 11, nearly two weeks after the district originally planned.
The news was announced Tuesday morning by Dr. Susan Enfield, who is the district superintendent.
Required distance learning may be coming to an end for Highline Public Schools as the district’s hybrid plan gets up and running starting today, but the instruction style has proved sufficient for many students and families, district Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield said.
As a result, remote learning will continue to be offered for some students in the fall.
Highline Public Schools will reopen classrooms on April 19, nearly two months after the district first planned.
The delay came after the district’s teachers voted Wednesday not to return on March 11, as the district had planned. The district’s original plan was to reopen some classrooms on March 1.
Amid Highline’s recent transition to ctcLink, students are trying to familiarize themselves with the new registration process for Spring Quarter.
The official switch to the new system on Feb. 16 was fraught with confusion, with a few students not even aware of ctcLink until several weeks ago.
The fifth annual “Highline Welcomes the World Week” will begin virtually this Tuesday, Feb. 16, with the theme of “Connections.”
This will be the first time the event series takes place virtually, with all the presentations occurring on Zoom.
Amid vaccine confusion and widespread fears amongst teachers about the COVID-19 pandemic, Highline Public Schools still plans to resume modified in-person learning next month for those who want it.
As it stands, schools in the district have been closed to most students since last March, when Gov. Jay Inslee issued a shutdown order.
Highline’s recent accreditation went well and was an important step in planning for the future, said President Dr. John Mosby.
Accreditation is a multi-step evaluation process that happens at all colleges once every seven years. It is done to verify that the institution is fulfilling expectations and operating effectively.
Despite COVID-19 shutdowns, decreased tax revenues, and an overall sense of unease, the city of Federal Way is thriving financially, Mayor Jim Ferrell said.
Federal Way is the 10th largest city in Washington, and as of 2019, had a population of about 96,000 people.
The city of Kent is staying afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic and taking things one day at a time, Mayor Dana Ralph said.
Kent is the sixth largest city in Washington and as of 2019, had a population of about 131,000 people. Last year, it was named one of the top 10 most ethnically diverse cities in America.
Local cities are having to tighten their budgets as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect economic activity across the region, city officials say.
Statewide, gross business income fell by 17 percent because of the pandemic.
