3News has partnered with the League of Women Voters, a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to voter education, to help make sure the community has access to all the information they need before hitting the polls Nov. 3.
The following information was gathered and compiled by the League and published in their Voters Guide and on Vote411.org.
The Del Mar College Board of Regents includes nine regents in a modified single-member district configuration. Five regents represent specific geographic districts while four serve at-large.
Regents elected in November will serve a six-year term which ends in 2026.
BOARD DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The Board, composed of lay members, shall exercise the traditional and time-honored role as it has evolved and shall constitute the keystone of the governance structure. In this regard, the Board is expected: to preserve institutional independence and to defend its right to manage its own affairs through its chosen administrators and employees; to enhance the public image of the College; to interpret the community to the College and interpret the College to the community; to nurture the College to achieve its full potential within its role and mission; to provide for financial resources to support adequately the institutional goals; to appoint the President of the College and conduct periodic evaluations of the President's performance; to establish and periodically review the mission of the College; and to establish goals consistent with the role and mission of the College.
Carol Scott
Campaign Email http://carolscott.delmarregent@gmail.com
Campaign Phone Number (361) 813-8888
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/DMCRegentCarolScott
Twitter @cascott
BACKGROUND: Describe your strongest competency and life experience that qualify you to hold this office.
Carol Scott DMC Regent-6 yrs, current Board Chair. Community College Assoc of Texas Trustees-Board Chair. 30+ yrs in business & community leadership. Past president/chair of: CCISD Board of Trustees, CC Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Corpus Christi, League of Women Voters, Texas Public Relations Assoc. Accredited in Public Relations, member of PRSA College of Fellows, 2017 Distinguished Alumni of Texas A&M-Kingsville, member of TAMUK Presidents Council & A&M System Chancellor’s Century Council
ISSUES: During your campaign, what is the number one concern expressed to you by the residents of the Del Mar College district? What is your response to this concern?
Carol Scott Student success: At DMC we define student success by completion of educational goals & persistence toward those goals. Approx 78% of students attend part time & are coming back to retrain for new careers or finish a degree. The board is hyper focused on this issue. We have targeted strategies in our new Strategic Plan on student advising - investing in technology, training & resources to help our students succeed. Our goal is to help them complete their degree faster & more efficiently.
PURPOSE: Del Mar College successfully balances the needs of students seeking job skills with those of students who aspire to higher academic training at a reasonable cost.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Please explain your answer.
Carol Scott Approx 25,000 students enroll each year in credit & continuing ed courses. About half of those are seeking academic degrees or transfer credits & about half are seeking certificates or enrolled in job training. The number of annual graduates has increased steadily for the past 4 yrs. In 17-18, We set an all-time record number – 2,034. In addition, we hit a high water mark in certificates awarded in the last 50 years. Our credit enrollment in the fall of 2019 was the highest ever: 12,252 students
RETURN TO CAMPUS: What should the decision-making process be for determining the parameters for on-campus instruction?
Carol Scott Soon after COVID-19 forced the halt of in-person instruction, our President, his administrators and faculty have been actively engaged in developing Return to Campus (RTC) protocols. We have some students whose coursework requires in-person instruction returning under very strict protocols like nursing, aircraft mechanic, welding, etc. The board is briefed at every meeting on our COVID-19 response and how the RTC protocols are evolving.
PRIORITIES: Other than the issues previously addressed, what are your top three priorities, and, if elected, how would you address them?
Carol Scott 1) Fiscal accountability – keeping DMC affordable for both students and taxpayers; 2) Implement our new Strategic Plan 3) Maintain a focus on Student Success. The key to all three is stability, leadership & experience. Across the state, Del Mar College is a shining example of community college success. I have 14 years of experience as an educational leader in Corpus Christi & understand the role of the board is to govern not micro-manage. My goal is to Keep Del Mar College Moving Forward!
Nick Adame
Campaign Email http://drnickada@gmail.com
Campaign Phone Number (361) 888-5418
BACKGROUND: Describe your strongest competency and life experience that qualify you to hold this office.
Nick Adame My experience volunteering in the community has been extensive, with over two decades of working with the different organizations. I have served as president of LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) for more than 15 years. I currently volunteer on several community boards: Nueces County community action agency, Amistad Community Health Center Board, Tejano Civil Rights Museum and Resource Center Board, Texas Jazz Festival Society Board. I am also a member of the American G.I. forum
ISSUES: During your campaign, what is the number one concern expressed to you by the residents of the Del Mar College district? What is your response to this concern?
Nick Adame At this time, the biggest concern in the community is COVID 19. COVID 19 has brought the College many unexpected challenges where thinking outside the box has been our new norm. The question that I get asked the most is, "When is Del Mar returning to face to face instruction?" My response is always that the administration is very concerned about the safety of all students and employees at the College and, therefore, does not want to make decisions that might hurt our Del Mar Community.
PURPOSE: Del Mar College successfully balances the needs of students seeking job skills with those of students who aspire to higher academic training at a reasonable cost.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Please explain your answer.
Nick Adame Delmar College continues to maintain an educated workforce by addressing the needs of the community and the surrounding industries. Delmar offers technical vocational and academic courses, which include: architecture technology, HVAC, process technology, health information technology, LVN, and RN training to an Associate degree if students plan to continue to a four-year university.
RETURN TO CAMPUS: What should the decision-making process be for determining the parameters for on-campus instruction?
Nick Adame The decision making for the entire college community needs to be made by our campus administration As to the parameters for on-campus instruction, who else is more responsible for instruction than the instructors themselves? The decision making process should be as follows: Vice President for Instruction needs to meet with the Deans of each department, and in turn, the Department Heads meet with their instructors to hear from them what needs to be included in the curriculum,
PRIORITIES: Other than the issues previously addressed, what are your top three priorities, and, if elected, how would you address them?
Nick Adame I.) College Affordability - Del Mar has one of the lowest tuition rates in the South Texas area. My mission is to inform students and parents of programs that are available to them. II.) Strategic Planning: Ensuring that we adhere to our College Strategic Plan. The plan was created by students, community, staff, and the Board of Regents. III.) Campus Budget: Ensuring that Del Mar College expenditures are kept at a minimum. This can be achieved by looking at spending and cutting where necessary
John F. Wilson
Campaign Email http://Jfwilson76@gmail.com
Campaign Phone Number (206) 859-5689
Website http://makedelmarbetter.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/JohnWilsonforDelMarBoardofRegentsAtLarge
BACKGROUND: Describe your strongest competency and life experience that qualify you to hold this office.
John F. Wilson I have over 30 years of financial management experience with multi billion dollar corporations. This experience includes responsibility for evaluating and managing multi million capital expenditure projects.
ISSUES: During your campaign, what is the number one concern expressed to you by the residents of the Del Mar College district? What is your response to this concern?
John F. Wilson The current board leadership has shown complete disregard for the the taxpayers by moving forward with the construction of a new Southside Campus despite decreasing student enrollment..taxpayers are paying top dollar for our community college while getting subpar student graduation rates. We need new leadership on the board that focuses on improving student experience & graduation rates while simultaneously being committed to reducing administrative bloat and costs.
PURPOSE: Del Mar College successfully balances the needs of students seeking job skills with those of students who aspire to higher academic training at a reasonable cost.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Please explain your answer.
John F. Wilson Del Mar College has the 2nd highest tax rate among the 10 largest cities in the state of Texas and has successively raise tuition costs for students.
RETURN TO CAMPUS: What should the decision-making process be for determining the parameters for on-campus instruction?
John F. Wilson Safety of students and staff is the paramount concern and Del Mar should follow guidance from the state and teh CDC.
PRIORITIES: Other than the issues previously addressed, what are your top three priorities, and, if elected, how would you address them?
John F. Wilson 1. Upon election, we should institute a comprehensive review of programs offered along with the number of students in each respective program to determine cost effectiveness and viability going forward. 2. The current plans for the Southside campus needs to be scraaped. Phase 1 is committed; however, the plans for Phases 2-4 need to be shelved. There is no rational basis for expanding physical campus space by an additional 750,000 square feet when there currently exists a surplus.
Shawn Flanagan
Campaign Email http://sflanagan55@gmail.com
Campaign Phone Number (361) 728-4828
Website http://www.makedelmarbetter.com
Facebook http://coachflanaganfordelmar,com
BACKGROUND: Describe your strongest competency and life experience that qualify you to hold this office.
Shawn Flanagan 37 years of coaching and teaching at university level. Head track/cross country coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTSA and assistant track coach at Univ of Texas. 31 times named Coach of the year. 2 years public school teaching in San Antonio, middle school level reading. Four years active duty US Army, rank of Captain. Masters Degree in Education from UTSA. Bachelors Degree in Social Studies with teacher certificate from Univ of Wisconsin-Platteville. 4.00 under grad gpa.
ISSUES: During your campaign, what is the number one concern expressed to you by the residents of the Del Mar College district? What is your response to this concern?
Shawn Flanagan Lack of care for incoming/current students at Del Mar College. Reallocation of resources to change ratio of academic advisors from current 1 to 1,000+ level to 1 to 100 students. Allow invasive counseling by academic advisors for all students requiring remedial classes-currently 77% of Del Mar Students. This will allow Del Mar students to achieve the level of success that other students, such as my previous student athletes did in regard to GPA and graduation rates.
PURPOSE: Del Mar College successfully balances the needs of students seeking job skills with those of students who aspire to higher academic training at a reasonable cost.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
Please explain your answer.
Shawn Flanagan It appears that Del Mar does a decent job in many respects but the low graduation rate, 16%, and low transfer out rate, 8%, indicate that much more can be done to improve the student experience. The current board's leadership is emphasizing areas other than student performance and that is a problem that needs to be corrected.
RETURN TO CAMPUS: What should the decision-making process be for determining the parameters for on-campus instruction?
Shawn Flanagan The issue of risk of illness versus risk of lack of education needs to have a cost benefit analysis done. Del Mar College exists for in person, hands on instruction, especially in the vocational areas. Many scientific studies indicate that the risk to young people from COVID has been exaggerated. We should be careful but we should not expect a no risk situation before proceeding. We should open but monitor carefully. The Board should set the return policy and the President should implement.
PRIORITIES: Other than the issues previously addressed, what are your top three priorities, and, if elected, how would you address them?
Shawn Flanagan 1. Increase graduation rate-by increasing advisors, monitoring program outcomes and increasing customer service monitoring. 2. Increase enrollment-by improving programs, having a better graduation rate, having better customer service the enrollment will increase. 3. Decrease cost to students and Corpus Christi community-stop automatic tuition increases, no increases in property taxes, cut costs and live within the budget.
The above information was gathered and compiled by the League of Women Voters, a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to voter education.
3News has partnered with the League in order to help make sure our community has access to all the information they need before they hit the polls. You can find more of this information at Vote411.org.