WT Expands 50%-Off Offer to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — Employees at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will be the first to benefit from a new program at West Texas A&M University.

WT’s Agency Excellence Initiative program launches today, offering half-off tuition and mandatory fees to full-time employees at The Texas A&M University System’s agencies, kicking off with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

“WT is well suited both academically and geographically to assist employees of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to complete or pursue degrees,” WT President Walter V. Wendler said. “We have been focused on addressing the issues and opportunities unique to rural populations and areas. Agency employees will be able to continue learning so they can better serve the people and populations of Texas. This initiative makes WT and The Texas A&M University System responsive to the needs of Texas and beyond.”

We are grateful to Dr. Wendler and West Texas A&M University for their leadership and partnership in expanding this opportunity to our agency,” said Dr. Rick Avery, director of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. “Providing our employees with greater opportunities for advancing their education strengthens our workforce and directly supports our historic mission of delivering high-quality educational programming and service to Texans. This initiative reflects our shared commitment to investing in people and expanding the reach and impact of the Texas A&M University System.”

TAMUS agencies also include Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, and Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

The initiative is modeled after WT’s successful Educators Excellence Initiative, which launched in June for full-time teachers, administrators, librarians, nurses, counselors or paraprofessionals working at any school within the Region 16 Education Service Center, as well as employees of the ESC. That was expanded in September to Regions 17 and 18, as well as 1A and 2A school across the state, then in November to eligible employees of community colleges throughout Texas.

The Educators Excellence Initiative contributed to a more than 2% rise in WT’s fall 2025 enrollment. According to numbers released Sept. 11, WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences saw the greatest year-over-year increase among WT’s six Colleges, growing more than 6% over 2024.

The educators and agency initiatives follow in the footsteps of WT’s Employee and Family Tuition and Fees Reduction program, which was offered first to full-time University employees beginning in May 2022.

Both excellence initiatives and the WT half-off waivers are considered to be among the most generous offered by any state college or university in Texas or The Texas A&M University System.

Other conditions, including financial aid benefits, may apply to the total cost of tuition. 

The Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center, a new state-of-the-art facility that combines research and education outreach to the greater Texas High Plains region, opened Jan. 21 in Canyon.

The new facility will include all the staff, faculty and programming from the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Amarillo. The Amarillo center, which was located at 6500 W. Amarillo Blvd., closed Jan. 15.

The new facility is part of The Texas A&M University System’s Charles W. “Doc” Graham ’53 DVM Center complex, located at 3211 Russell Long Blvd. on the West Texas A&M University campus. This center encompasses the Texas A&M Veterinary Education, Research and Outreach (VERO) and the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory complex.

Serving the people of Texas, primarily in rural regions, is the key mission in 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, which is now winding down, has raised more than $175 million.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: West Texas A&M University President Walter V. Wendler and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Director Dr. Rick Avery celebrate the launch of WT's new Agency Excellence Initiative, which will offer half-off tuition and mandatory fees to full-time employees at The Texas A&M University System’s agencies, kicking off with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

—WT—