Chapter II Administrative Organization

B2.1 Board of Regents: The Board is composed of nine members who are elected for six-year terms in accordance with State law. Elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years, at which time three members are elected. The Chair and other Board officers are elected by the membership of the Board. Subject to applicable statutes, regulations, and State law, if the position of an at-large representative on the Board shall become vacant, the Board shall fill the unexpired term in accord with the Board Bylaws. If the position of a district representative on the Board shall become vacant, the Board may fill the unexpired term in accord with the Board Bylaws or may opt to leave the position open to be filled at the next election. Board elections and appointments shall be conducted in accordance with College policy and State law.

B2.1.1 Vacancy: When a vacancy occurs on the Board of Regents, the Board shall fill the unexpired term in accordance with the Board Bylaws.

B2.1.2 Statement of Ethics:  Each member of the Board will conduct themselves, at all times, in accordance with the highest ethical principles and shall strive to support the Mission and Vision Statement of the College and, to that end, shall adhere to the Statement of Conduct and Ethics in the Board Bylaws.  

B2.1.3 Requests for College Records and Documents: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the College has full authority over all College personnel, and, consequently, any requests by the Board or individual Board members for reports, specific directives, project proposals, or other documents will be directed to the CEO’s office.  The CEO of the College will take appropriate action and issue appropriate directives to faculty and staff in order to comply with requests within reasonable timelines.

B2.1.3.1 The submission of requests through the office of the CEO of the College ensures that work is assigned and completed in coordination with the College’s priorities, staffing necessities, and mandated deadlines.

B2.1.3.2  The CEO of the College will ensure that all reports and documents requested by individual Board members are distributed to all members of the Board of Regents.  Board members will receive requested documents as timely as possible.

B2.1.3.3 Inquiries by Board members for routine consumer information typically printed in College publications or in other ways routinely made available to the public may be made directly to and handled by the appropriate staff.

B2.1.4 Reprimand or Censure of a Board Member: The Board of Regents shall have the authority to sanction and/or censure a Board member who is found by the Board to have violated the Board member's duties or any other provisions of the Board Bylaws. In order for the Board to censure a Board member, the Board member must be found, by majority vote of the Board, to have violated a specific statute or law, Board Bylaw, or Board policy defining the Board member's duties and responsibilities. Such a finding shall be made by the Board only after an investigation by the Board or the Board's designee. The investigation must include an opportunity for the Board member to respond to the specific allegation(s) that the Board member has breached a duty.

B2.1.5 Public Comment During Board Meeting: 

The Del Mar College Board of Regents (“Board”) has always endeavored to solicit the advice and counsel of the public in the planning and operation of the College. To this end, the Board recognizes the role of public comment and input during the meetings of the Board and respects the right of the public to provide such comment.  There are two opportunities during a Board meeting for public comment:  i) in connection with a specific agenda item, prior to Board action (agenda items); and, ii) during General Public Comments (non-agenda items). 

In order to reasonably facilitate public comment during Board meetings and to ensure that everyone is provided with an equal opportunity to be heard, the rules set forth in the Board Bylaws shall apply. 

B2.1.6 Structure for Board of Regents Committees:  

The Chair or the Board may establish such committees as it deems necessary for the welfare of the College District. The Board will provide its committees clear, appropriate responsibilities. Committees serve a purely advisory function and do not act for the Board; rather, they submit recommendations for action to the Board.

Committees of the Board will be formed in accordance with the Del Mar College District Board Bylaws.

B2.2 Official Name/Seal of the College: Del Mar College District is the legal name of the community college district. Del Mar College, the College, the College District, the District, Del Mar, DMC, and DMCD are all synonymous terms meaning the educational institution administered by the Del Mar College District. The official seal of the College is a registered wordmark that is reserved and legally protected for exclusive use by the institution.  The seal carries the wording "Del Mar College District, Corpus Christi, Texas" around the perimeter of the circle, with the interlocking DMC symbol in the center.

B2.3 Administrative Structure: The administration of the College is under the authority of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the College. The CEO is appointed by the Board of Regents and is directly responsible to it. All other administrative officers are responsible to the Board of Regents through the CEO. Aside from the general authority and responsibility of the CEO, all administrative functions of the College are concerned with general administration, business and finance, human resources, instruction, and student services.  As is necessary to implement these functions, the CEO is responsible to the Board of Regents for setting and describing all essential organizational and instructional units such as departments, offices, divisions, and centers.  The  College Organizational Chart.

B2.3.1 The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the College: The CEO of the College, as the chief executive and administrative officer of the College, is responsible to the Board of Regents for the operation of the College and its programs. In fulfilling the duties of office, the CEO shall act within the framework of College policy. The CEO shall have full power and authority (which power and authority are hereby delegated by the Board) to manage, control, and operate the College, except to the extent that such authority is required by law to be reserved to the Board or is specifically reserved to the Board in the Board Policies. Such authority and responsibility of the CEO shall include but shall not be limited to the following:

B2.3.1.1 further the interests of the College and the College District;

B2.3.1.2 advise and consult with the Board of Regents on matters of institutional concern;

B2.3.1.3 inform the Board of Regents as to problems, needs, and accomplishments of the institution;

B2.3.1.4 develop, as requested, policies for consideration by the Board of Regents;

B2.3.1.5 recommend policies on relevant matters for consideration by the Board of Regents and see to the implementation of policies approved by the Board;

B2.3.1.6 work with appropriate College personnel in developing and carrying out instructional and student development programs, which includes recommending for Board approval all courses, degrees, and certificates in keeping with the objectives and resources of the institution;

B2.3.1.7 work with appropriate College personnel in developing the College budget and, after approval by the Board of Regents, see to the careful implementation of the budget;

B2.3.1.8 work with appropriate personnel in seeing to the proper care for College physical facilities and participate in the planning and development of new facilities;

B2.3.1.9 develop and implement appropriate salary and wage systems and procedures for non-faculty personnel within the framework of the College budget;

B2.3.1.10 develop, with appropriate faculty and administrative participation, personnel and salary policies for the faculty;

B2.3.1.11 see to the appropriate representation of the institution in relationships with accrediting, governmental, educational, and professional organizations of importance to the College; and

B2.3.1.12 employ faculty and all other employees of the district.

A2.3.2 Organizational Structure and Job Descriptions:  The administrative and organization structure of the College shall be determined by the College CEO. The Organizational Chart is available at Org Chart, and job descriptions for those positions are found at  Job Descriptions.

A2.3.3 The Department Chairs:  The Department Chairs of Del Mar College are appointed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) each year from among the qualified members of the faculty.

A2.3.3.1 The following definitions will apply in the selection of the Department Chair.

A2.3.3.1.1 Basic Principles:  Recommendations from department search committees will be given full consideration by the CEO when making appointment decisions. The final authority for the selection and appointment of departmental chairs resides with the CEO.

A2.3.3.1.2 Chair:  The Chair of a department serves as the chief representative of an instructional department within the College, as designated in the College's extant Organizational Chart at the time the vacancy occurs.  In normal circumstances, the Chair is a tenured faculty member who represents the department to the College, and is also the department's chief administrative officer, representing the administration to the department.  The Chair should meet the SACS requirements for full-time faculty members of the department.  For an extended definition and a list of responsibilities, see  Job Descriptions.

A2.3.3.1.3 Department:   A department is an instructional unit headed by an officially recognized leader as in A2.3.3.1.2 above.  For the purposes of the present policy, a department is a single- or a multi-discipline instructional unit led by a Chair, as designated in the College's extant Organizational Chart at the time the vacancy occurs.  Thus, the parameters of an internal search are limited to the members of the affected department, while the parameters of an external search include the department but extend beyond the College.

A2.3.3.1.4 CAO and Dean:  The CAO is the Chief Academic Officer.  The Dean is the dean of the instructional division in which the vacancy has occurred.

A2.3.3.1.5 Committee:   The nature of the committee will vary according to the needs dictated by the circumstances.  In its various roles, a committee may act as a search committee, a screening committee, or an evaluation committee, depending on agreements among CAO, Dean, and committee members.  Regardless of its role, the committee's fundamental and ever-present obligation is to represent the collective will of the department to the administration in filling the vacancy.

A2.3.3.1.6 Procedures:   The procedures for selecting a Department Chair are outlined in the  DMC Policy and Procedural Handbook for Screening Committees.  Initial procedures and internal searches differ from procedures used for the selection of faculty and thus appear in a different section of the  Handbook.  External searches, however, will follow the standard procedures for selection of faculty.  In ordinary circumstances, an external search to fill a vacancy in a Department's Chair is initiated only after all efforts to fill the position internally have been exhausted.

A2.3.3.1.7 Disagreement:   If the committee, the Dean, and the CAO agree on a candidate or a set of candidates, documents will proceed up the chain of command to the CEO.  However, if in these matters disagreement occurs between the committee and the Dean, between the committee and the CAO, or between the Dean and the CAO, the decision at the higher level will prevail.  Administrators will confer with the committee to discuss the candidacy of the applicants, to clarify their position, and to arrive at an understanding.  

A2.3.3.2 The Department Chair reports to the Dean of the appropriate division. The assignment of a stipend as compensation for the additional duties of a Chair does not alter the appointment status of a faculty member.

B2.4 Committees, Cabinets, and Councils : Members of the Faculty Council, the Exempt Employee Advisory Council, and the Nonexempt Employee Advisory Council are elected by their constituencies. The elected constituency councils are considered essential advisory bodies to the College Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The CEO appoints members of other councils, the standing committees, and the ad hoc committees, some of whom are recommended to the CEO by the Faculty Council and other College advisory groups. Each year the CEO will announce to the faculty and staff the committee membership.

A2.4.1 Elected Constituency Councils: The elected constituency councils in B2.4 represent their respective employee groups. (See Del Mar College Elected Constituency Councils)

A2.4.2 Standing Committees and other Councils: Revised December 5, 2023  Information about standing committees and other councils of the College is found on DMC Share at the following link:  DMC Share.

A2.4.3 Ad Hoc Committees: Ad Hoc Committees are appointed for a limited duration by the CEO for the completion of specific tasks.

B2.5 Shared Governance:   The College practices shared governance based on respect for the opinions and ideas of all members of the College community including students, faculty, staff, and administration, each participating with timely input to the decision-making process, as appropriate.  Central to the practice of shared governance are the College councils and committees that provide advice and recommendations to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The faculty has primary responsibility for such fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, and other matters directly related to teaching and learning.  The faculty recommends the requirements for the degrees and certificate and determines when the requirements have been met.

The exercise of management responsibilities by the CEO and administrators of the College is not routinely a matter of shared governance.