The Economic Value of WTAMU Main Report

WTAMU FY 2017-18 student data
WTAMU served 12,123 students taking courses for credit and 219 non-credit
students in FY 2017-18. These numbers represent unduplicated student headcounts.
The breakdown of the student body by gender was 42% male and
58% female. The breakdown by ethnicity was 59% white, 40% minority, and 1%
unknown. The students’ overall average age was 26 years old. 3 An estimated 62%
of students remain in the Texas Panhandle after finishing their time at WTAMU,
another 11% settle outside the region but in the state, and the remaining 27%
settle outside the state. 4
Table 1.2 summarizes the breakdown of the student population and their corresponding
awards and credits by education level. In FY 2017-18, WTAMU served
one PhD or professional graduates, 751 master’s degree graduates, and 1,589
bachelor’s degree graduates. Another 9,773 students enrolled in courses for
credit but did not complete a degree during the reporting year. The university
offered dual credit courses to high schools, serving a total of nine students
over the course of the year. The university also served 219 personal enrichment
students enrolled in non-credit courses.
We use credit hour equivalents (CHEs) to track the educational workload of the
students. One CHE is equal to 15 contact hours of classroom instruction per
semester. In the analysis, we exclude the CHE production of personal enrichment
students under the assumption that they do not attain knowledge, skills,
and abilities that will increase their earnings. The average number of CHEs per
student (excluding personal enrichment students) was 18.6.
TABLE 1.2: BREAKDOWN OF STUDENT HEADCOUNT AND CHE PRODUCTION BY EDUCATION LEVEL, FY 2017-18
Category Headcount Total CHEs Average CHEs
PhD or professional graduates 1 4 4.0
Master’s degree graduates 751 8,532 11.4
Bachelor’s degree graduates 1,589 31,728 20.0
Continuing students 9,773 185,650 19.0
Dual credit students 9 68 7.6
Personal enrichment students 219 1,833 8.4
Total, all students 12,342 227,815 18.5
Total, less personal enrichment students 12,123 225,982 18.6
Source: Data provided by WTAMU.
3 Unduplicated headcount, gender, ethnicity, and age data provided by WTAMU.
4 Settlement data provided by WTAMU.
Chapter 1: Profile of West Texas A&M University and the Economy 16