WTAMU students return to class with new changes

CANYON, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — West Texas A&M University students will be back in the classrooms on Aug. 26. Students will be experiencing new changes including free textbooks, new degree options and major construction projects.

According to WT officials, students taking classes in the fall semester will be the first to take advantage of free textbooks for students taking core classes. As previously reported, WT officials announced a deal with Cengage and McGraw Hill to provide students with digital textbooks and materials, including digital learning platforms, mobile apps and more.

Officials state Cengage’s license will allow faculty members to curate content from multiple textbooks for use in the course at no cost to students. McGraw Hill will provide mobile apps enabling students and faculty to access ebooks offline and the Sharpen study app.

WT officials will launch the first embedded associate degree this semester, with seven more planned to launch in the spring. Students can earn an associate degree in mathematics while working towards completing a bachelor’s degree. The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved a plan that establishes eight new degree programs:

• Associate of Arts degree:
• Liberal arts and humanities
• Multidisciplinary

• Associate of Science degree:

• Business
• Education
• Health Sciences
• Mathematics
• Natural Science
• Social Sciences

Officials state that students will be automatically awarded an associate degree once they meet the requirements, 42 hours of core curriculum courses and 18 hours aligned with their major.

In addition, WT officials stated construction for the Geneva Schaeffer Education Building renovation began in May. Known as “Old Ed,” the building received a $30 million funded by the State of Texas Capital Construction Assistance Program with a naming gift from the Standley Schaeffer family. The building has been used for storage since the 1980s.

The building will house online learning programs and the WT Graduate School when construction is complete.

Elsewhere on campus, officials state that the Bain Athletic Complex officially opened in July with expanded locker rooms, modern office space and weight rooms. The Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel reopened in June after $1 million in renovations. The University Dining Hall added new carpet and seating arrangements in the east dining hall.

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