CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Del Mar College will be offering a brand-new bachelor's program this fall and it could open doors for many people here in the Coastal Bend.
This Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Management and Leadership degree will be the college's second bachelor program they've ever offered.
The first was their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, which first started in 2021.
This new degree is open not only to current Del Mar students who are pursuing their associate degree, but to anyone who holds an associate degree and is ready to expand their knowledge and move their career further.
"What I'm most excited about for this degree is that it's really available to so many different disciplines that people have studied under, and so it's good for our current students,” said Dean of Business Entrepreneurship and Medical Sciences, Dr. Jeniffer Sramek.
“They can continue, but it's also for people in the community that have an associate degree that are already working. They can come back and continue their education."
The new bachelor's degree is something Dr. Sramek says will help students fill much needed general and operation management positions in the Coastal Bend.
"We chose this particular major because it's on the targeted occupations list, which is put out by the Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend," she said.
Workforce Solutions' research shows the average hourly earnings for those positions is about $43 an hour.
Dr. Sramek says this degree opens doors for students to achieve a higher standard of living.
"If our community is able to advance their education from high school to an associate degree, to a bachelor's degree and even beyond, that gives them more earning power, and that's really good for our community. It brings in more industry and businesses that are interested in hiring people at that level as well," she said.
Del Mar formed a committee made up of academic deans, local business owners and entrepreneurs to help form the degree curriculum.
They found employees in the field need to know a variety of topics such as accounting, management, marketing and even legal issues to succeed in a managerial career.
Dr. Sramek says their degree coursework will cover all that and more to offer students the best shot at success after graduation.
"We really put together a curriculum that addresses many of those issues, and no matter what associate degree a student may have come from, then we can build on those technical skills by complementing them with additional business skills," she said.
All 11 bachelor level courses for the degree are eight weeks long and taken online.
Del Mar has already launched their webpage dedicated to the degree. There you can find information about the program and apply.