Del Mar has deactivated four degrees and four certificate programs due to low enrollment.

At the Sep. 9 Board of Regents meeting, Del Mar College Vice President And Chief Academic Officer Jonda Halcomb gave a report on the deactivated programs to the board. The deactivated programs were approved by the department chairs, academic teams, and curriculum communities. 

The degrees and certificates deactivated include associate degrees in auto body applied technology, web development, industrial machining applied technology and chemical engineering; along with certificates in computer programing, interactive game technology and simulation, long-term care nursing home administrations, and aviation maintenance airframe applied technology. 

“We look at enrollments, numbers of graduates, numbers of majors,” Halcomb said at the Board of Regents meeting. 

The associate of applied science in auto body applied technology and two related certificate programs will be deactivated. The certificate programs had zero declared majors in 2023 and 2024; six declared majors in the AAS program in 2023 and zero in 2024; and two graduates in the AAS program and six certificates in Spring 2024. The faculty chair and dean of these programs recommended that this degree be deactivated due to the declining enrollment and graduation rate, along with the communities’ needs. Currently no full-time faculty has been affected due to this. 

“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,” Dean of Industry and Public Services Davis Merrell said at the Board of Regents meeting. “We had two adjuncts in the past who neither were interested in full-time employment.”

All students affected have been moved to other fields that are similar to the ones they were originally in. The college is allowing these students to be able to finish their degree or certificate and the college will also help direct students to any relevant programs within Del Mar. 

In the Computer Science, Engineering and Advanced Technology Department, an associate of applied science and two certificates will be deactivated. The program has awarded five AAS and five certificates in the past five years, and as of Fall 2024 had zero certificate enrollees and only seven AAS. 

“The department quickly recognized there was a need to do something for those students, one of those things they’ve done is in the development new stackable credentials leading to an AAS in Computer Programming, so those students have a segue to a gainful employment,” said Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Kinesiology and Education Jack Southard.

The associate degree in chemical engineering was deactivated due to only having five graduates in the past five years and seven in total since 2017. All seven of those graduates went on to complete their bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at other schools, six at Texas A&M University-Kingsville and the other from University of Houston. 

The Allied Health Departments Advanced Technical Certificate- Long-Term Care Nursing Home Administration had only six graduates in the past five years, three majors in the Fall of 2024, and an enrollment average of seven students in the past five years. Current enrolled students have been notified that this certificate will be deactivated by Spring 2026. 

“Students were offered an additional three semesters to finish six classes in the plan,” said Dean of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Health Sciences Jennifer Sramek. The two active students left in this program should graduate in May 2026. At this time no other certificates in this area are to be deactivated. 

“This process is the natural process of maintaining and managing the curriculum. This is what colleges and universities are supposed to do,” Del Mar President Mark Escamilla said. 

The Board of Regents did not need to make an approval for this, as it was only a report given by Halcomb. All the programs and certificates that have been deactivated were approved by Del Mar’s Curriculum Committee, and the departments’ deans.