If student interest dwindles and programs become outdated, Del Mar College deactivates the program.
This is normal business and “due diligence” for a community college, Del Mar College Vice President and Chief Academic Officer Jonda Halcomb said.
On Sept. 9, Halcomb informed the Del Mar College Board of Regents of the deactivation of several low-interest programs.
“We look at enrollments, number of graduates, number of majors,” Halcomb said. “We look at the relevance and importance of the program to today’s world.”
On the list are associate programs in auto body applied technology, web development, industrial machining applied technology and chemical engineering; certificates in computer programming and interactive game technology and simulation; an advanced technical certification in long-term care nursing home administration; and an occupational skills award in aviation maintenance.
Few students from these programs remain. For those who are left, the college is either allowing them to finish their degree or certificate or directing them to a relevant program within Del Mar College.
The Associate of Applied Science in auto body technology had only six declared majors in 2023 and zero in 2024. Similar certificate programs in nonstructural collision repair and structural collision refinishing repair had zero declared majors in 2023 or 2024. The program’s faculty member has also retired.
“Most of the students surveyed in the program were in the program to work on personal projects and not interested in full-time employment in the field of study,” said Davis Merrell, dean of industry and public service.
The auto body program is separate from the automotive applied technology program and diesel applied technology programs.
The Associate of Applied Science in industrial machining applied technology is paired with three certificates. There were only two declared majors for the certificates in 2023 and 2024. For the associate degree, there were just four declared majors in 2023. There was no demand by industry for this program, Merrell said.
“Automation has exponentially increased in this area, and on-the-job training is the norm,” Merrell said.
In 2024, the department reached out to students who had declared the industrial machining applied technology associate degree program in the past but never completed the program. As a result, the program had 15 declared majors in 2024, including students returning after a pause to complete their degree before the program was deactivated.
Any remaining students from industrial machining applied technology have been transferred into other industry-related programs.
The lab space from the program is being repurposed for welding.
The Associate of Applied Science in web development has been awarded only five times in the past five years. As technology has progressed, there is less need for web development graduates.
However, the college will still offer Associate of Applied Science degrees in other, more relevant areas of computer science.
Similarly, there has been declining interest in the interactive game technology and simulation certificate and “IT Essentials: Computer Programming” certificate, which is identified by the college as outdated. Instead, the department has developed stackable credentials that lead to the associate degree in computer programming.
“Computer science is ever-evolving,” Halcomb said. “So (the department) has to reinvent themselves quite frequently.”
The deactivated occupational skills award in aviation maintenance airframe applied technology is just one piece of a larger aviation maintenance program, which will still include certificates and associate degrees.
However, the occupational skills award had only one major in 2023-24 and has not had a graduate in five years.
“This award was deactivated because it did not allow entry to the aviation field because of the strict requirements of the (Federal Aviation Administration),” Merrell said.
The associate degree in chemical engineering has had few students since its creation in 2017. In the past five years there have been only five graduates.
Though each of these graduates successfully transferred to a bachelor’s degree program, college staff members say that there isn’t enough student interest to continue offering a chemical engineering-specific associate degree.
The college will still offer chemistry programs. With careful advising, interested chemistry students could still earn transferable credits in order to eventually earn a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at another institution, said Jack Southard, dean of STEM, kinesiology and education.
The advanced technical certificate in long-term care nursing home administration was aimed at students who already had a bachelor’s degree. It only had six graduates in the past five years.
Halcomb said that individuals interested in a certificate in this area were more likely to seek it out from the institution where they earned their bachelor’s degree.
Board of Regents approval is not necessary for program deactivations — just new ones. However, college staff is required to inform the board.
All deactivations are approved by the Del Mar College curriculum committee.
“This process is the natural process of maintaining and managing the curriculum,” President Mark Escamilla said. “This is what colleges and universities are supposed to do.”
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Del Mar College deactivates degrees with near-zero enrollments
Reporting by Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
