About EDT

About Equity, Diversity & Transformation

The Division of Equity, Diversity & Transformation (EDT) leads Highline College’s institutional commitment to creating a campus where every student, staff, and faculty member feels a deep sense of belonging. We partner across divisions to advance equitable policies, culturally responsive teaching, and inclusive practices that remove barriers and expand opportunity.

Our work centers on:

• Transforming systems to close equity gaps
• Supporting students through culturally grounded services
• Guiding institutional planning through data and research
• Building community through dialogue, learning, and shared responsibility

EDT has moved from a foundational launch into a sustained institutional impact. Through culturally responsive programming,  cross‑sector partnerships, and equity‑centered data systems, EDT has strengthened student access, persistence, and success—while positioning Highline College as a regional and national leader in servingness, basic needs innovation, and evidence‑based equity practice.

Student Support Center

Our Student Support Center significantly advances basic needs security.  and offers a suite of basic needs supports for students. Areas of support include food access at our Highline Community Pantry, support with public benefits at the Benefits Hub, emergency funding for student’s personal expenses, and our Student Housing & Retention programs. These support programs are a proven retention strategy for students, as basic needs security remains as the most common reason students across Washington stop out of college.

The Student Support Center stewards partnerships and external resources including substantial support from the Highline College Foundation, the United Way King County, the King County Housing Authority, the Emergency Feeding program, Unkitawa, the Des Moines Area Food Bank, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, and other organizations that are dedicated to supporting the success of our talented students.

Cultural Learning Communities

The Cultural Learning Communities (CLC) at Highline College support student success through culturally responsive programming, community building, and integrated academic support. CLC includes Umoja, Juntos, and Highline Promise. Each program is intentionally designed to foster a strong sense of belonging, academic achievement, and leadership development.

A key component of the CLC model is the integration of cultural identity into the classroom experience. Learning communities intentionally infuse culturally relevant curriculum, ensuring that students see their histories, identities, and lived experiences reflected in their academic journey.

CLC offers a range of high-impact experiences that support student persistence and connection, including Summer Bridge, student success workshops, and community-centered programming. Signature events such as Kwanzaa celebrations, Día de los Muertos, the Black Business Expo, K.I.N.G. Conversations, and Barbershop Talks create meaningful opportunities for students to build community, explore identity, and engage in critical dialogue.

Through this work, CLC contributes to Highline’s broader equity efforts, including advancing goals toward Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation and strengthening outcomes for historically underserved student populations.

Institutional Research

Institutional Research (IR), now housed within EDT, has built a robust equity‑centered data infrastructure to support institutional effectiveness. IR developed and deployed disaggregated dashboards (pass rates, ELCAP, program improvement), has expanded systemwide reporting tools, and supports accreditation, climate surveys, and gainful employment compliance. 

IR also leads campuswide data literacy efforts, delivering multi‑year training for faculty and staff, launching the Highline Data Skills Academy, and embedding analysts into equity initiatives such as Moving to Serve, Black Student Advocacy Team, and King County Promise. Highline was selected for an NSF‑funded research study with Education Northwest, further elevating the College’s national research profile.

Faculty Research Fellows

EDT has launched faculty‑led, equity‑centered research designed to inform institutional change, strengthen student success strategies, and advance Highline College’s goals related to servingness, HSI readiness, and equity in outcomes. Collectively, this work centers on student experience, structural barriers, and evidence‑based interventions.

Faculty research topics include:

• Transformative qualitative research strategies focused on understanding student, faculty, and staff lived experiences by Dr. Ahmed Fahad
• Researching and implementing restorative justice practices to support student success by Dr. Samora Covington
• Black student success data and strategies by Dr. E.T. Elwin
• Research study examining why Latinx‑identified ELCAP students (levels 3–5) were not transitioning into college‑credit pathways by Dr. Christie Knighton
• Student focus groups to better understand student experiences by Salma Silva-Licon