Bill Eaves
beaves@foghornnews.com
More than 11,700 students registered for Del Mar College this spring, according to preliminary, uncertified reports. The 11,728 students enrolled this semester is a drop from the 11,973 certified in fall 2016, but a jump of 550 from spring 2016, according to college records.
The figures include both full-time students and flex entry students, which are those taking short-week courses offered throughout the semester.
Patricia Dominguez, dean of Outreach and Enrollment Services, said several factors led to the increase from spring 2016.
“Employment opportunities are revving back up again … I think it’s slow going, but people are still coming to school,” Dominguez said. “Because we have all these different industries in the area, people want that high skill to make that high wage. Just like we’re going to need more welders, as the population grows we’re going to need more doctors, teachers, lawyers.”
Regarding the often painful process of registration, Dominguez shared some good news: There were no server crashes this registration cycle, a problem that seems to have plagued Del Mar for the last several years.
“IT migrated our current system to the cloud,” Dominguez said. “It made processing faster.”
Dominguez also expressed her hope that students attend some of the registration rallies held around campus.
One registration rally offered gift certificates worth $200 to the college bookstore. The first 3,600 students who enrolled and paid were entered into a drawing, and winners were chosen at random.
Her office is also sending out email reminders for payment deadlines and drop notifications, and seeking to help re-enroll students who have been dropped from classes.
Dominguez urged anyone thinking about enrolling for future semesters to register early and pay on time.
“Sign up for your classes, pay for your classes, secure the schedule you want,” Dominguez said.
Summer and fall registration opens April 3, and graduation is May 12. The next registration rally will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 3-6 on East and West campus.
