WT news in brief: Instagram contest winners, online honor, research, free textbooks, more

CANYON - Here are some of the news developments as West Texas A&M University (WT) began its spring semester this week.

Amarillo student among traveling Buffs to win $3,000 in scholarships through WT Instagram contest

Four WT students not only had fun on their holiday break. They also earned a total of $3,000 in scholarship money, thanks to the University’s second Instagram contest.

Allyson Garcia, a sophomore communication disorders major from Lubbock, won for a photo she took with the superhero Frozone from “The Incredibles” while wearing a WT sweatshirt at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Her photo — one of about 40 submissions — secured her the top prize of a $1,000 scholarship from the Office for Academic Affairs.

The five-week contest solicited photos from students taken over the winter break in December and early January. In all, more than $3,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded in the contest.

“This contest is a fun way to stay connected with our students, even over the holiday break. We get to see the exciting places they are visiting as well as seeing them share their pride in WT,” said Dr. Amy Andersen, associate provost. “We get a glimpse of the broader life of our students beyond the University setting while they are away.”

Four photos were chosen weekly based on engagement and shared to an Instagram story with a 24-hour poll. Voters chose their favorites, and winners received their choice of a maroon or gray WT-branded backpack. Other prizes included WT-branded shirts, tumblers and stickers. On Jan. 16, all of the submitted photos were judged by a committee of Academic Affairs staff members, who chose the top four scholarship winners.

Second place went to Aditya Jagdale, a graduate student in computer information systems and business analytics from Pune, India, for his photo in a WT zip-up jacket in New York City. He won a $750 scholarship. Third-place winner was Brenlea Broyles, a freshman animal science major from Spring Branch, for a photo of her flashing the Buff hand sign at Niagra Falls. She won a $500 scholarship. And fourth place went to Maddox Nite, a freshman digital communication and media major from Amarillo, for his leaping portrait in front of Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World while wearing a WT T-shirt and flashing two Buff hand signs. He won a $350 scholarship.

To enter the contest, students submitted photos of themselves wearing or holding WT gear that clearly showed the logo and tagged the WT Instagram account (@wtamu). To view all of the submitted photos, visit the WT Instagram account.

Forbes advisor: WT among top online colleges in Texas

WT ranks among nine other Texas universities in Forbes Advisor’s ranking of Best Texas Online Colleges of 2024.

Forbes Advisor offers independent, objective rankings and reviews, “using strict, published methodologies … informed by in-depth research, independent data gathering, analysis and expert insights,” according to its website. For its list of Texas’ best online colleges, it scored 96 accredited, nonprofit colleges that offer online bachelor’s degree programs among such categories as credibility, affordability, student outcomes, student experience and application process.

WT was cited for its flexibility, no application fee, minimal in-person requirements, and the Buff Promise program, which offers Texas residents free tuition for up to eight semesters for qualifying families with an annual income of $80,000 or less.

WT leading new research into families of children with learning disabilities

Parents of children with learning disabilities are sought to take part in groundbreaking new research. Faculty members in WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences are leading new research into the experiences of families with children with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and speech and language disorder.

“This research is the first of its kind in the United States,” said Dr. Malvika Behl, associate professor, counselor education program chair and principal investigator for the project. “We’re trying to bring out awareness and help teachers, administrators, counselors and diagnosticians better understand the parents’ experience and see how they can be helped more.”

The project, “Lived Experience of Parents of Children with Specific Learning Disabilities,” is funded via a $2,500 Richard and Mary West Traylor Research Grant from WT’s Center for Learning Disabilities.

Behl is partnering with three colleagues from the Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences: Dr. Kenneth Denton, associate dean and associate professor of psychology; Dr. Betty Coneway, head of the WT Department of Education and the Geneva Schaeffer Professor of Education; and Dr. Mikyung Shin, the Bill Piehl Professor of Education. The researchers are focusing on four common disorders that affect a person’s ability to read, write, do math and speak. They seek 33 families from across the United States to take part in interviews and an additional 33 families to complete surveys at wtamuuw.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3vHF8KnkwSEbtXM.

Wendler: WT students to be provided core textbooks free of charge beginning fall 2024

WT students will be provided textbooks for all core curriculum courses beginning in fall 2024, President Walter V. Wendler announced in a Jan. 16 memo.

The memo, which was sent to all faculty, staff and students on the first day of the spring 2024 semester, lays out Wendler’s plan to drastically reduce and, in many cases, eliminate textbook costs for students — a net savings of nearly $5 million within two years. In August, Wendler announced an ambitious vision to eliminate most textbook-related costs for all WT students. He then began a series of meetings with administrators, faculty and students in every college, then set up a blue-ribbon committee to work on a plan of action.

“What we learned is the vision in its entirety was too ambitious to implement by fall 2024,” Wendler wrote in the Jan. 16 memo. “However, we have a plan to significantly reduce textbook costs for WT students, and I am proud of the progress we have made toward fulfilling the vision.”

Administrators are exploring subscription-service options with textbook publishers, which would provide students and faculty access to a robust collection of digital and print textbooks and ancillary materials. Because an agreement would be negotiated at an institutional level, WT expects significant savings over the costs of individual purchases.

University funds have been budgeted to support a three-year publisher agreement, as well as to pay for instructional materials for core courses that are not available via the selected publisher or through open educational resources, or OER. In the past six years, OER utilization has risen from 5 percent to 22 percent across the university. These materials are teaching resources that are in the public domain or are released under intellectual property licenses that permit free use, adaptation and redistribution.

Students may incur textbook expenses in upper-level and graduate courses because resources available through the selected publisher or via OER may not meet instructional needs, Wendler wrote.

“The savings are significant and reflect the value WT places on shared governance and partnering with students and families to reduce costs, which reduces educational debt,” Wendler said. “I appreciate the efforts of faculty, students, staff and administrators to address head-on a plan to make WT a no-cost textbook campus. The work you have done and the progress you have made toward this vision will be a path for others to follow.”

Efficiently utilizing resources is a key maxim of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.

Final fall ’23 commencement numbers in; Dean’s, President’s Lists announced

The final tally is 878 graduates for WT's fall 2023 commencement. Overall, the University awarded 649 baccalaureate degrees, 215 master’s degrees and 14 doctoral degrees at the Dec. 9 commencement ceremonies, following procedural confirmation from the university’s seven deans.

View graduate names and hometowns on the WT website, as well as the students who made the Dean's List (overall grade point average of 3.50 to 3.99), on the President’s List (a 4.0) and the Distinguished President’s List (those who make the President’s List twice within the last 60 hours of an undergraduate degree).

Students on the three lists will be recognized at a come-and-go luncheon Feb. 20, where they can pick up their certificates and pose for photos with WT President Walter V. Wendler.

The oldest graduate was 76, and the youngest was 19. The graduating class includes 66 with a perfect 4.0 GPA and 41 veterans; 49 percent of the undergraduates are the first in their family to earn a college degree. Students from 37 states in the nation and 19 different countries graduated.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WT news in brief: Instagram contest winners, online honor, more