I am not going to tell you whether it is “good” or “bad.” An article cannot decide that. You decide, together with your child, when you combine this information with what your child wants to study and what your family can afford. My job here is simple: to help you understand this part of the map so well that you do not have to guess about anything.
What Kind of School It Is and Where It Stands
The University of Texas Permian Basin is a public four-year university. The Carnegie system, which classifies schools in the United States according to what they do, places it among master’s universities with larger graduate programs. Using data from 2019-20, it also describes the institution as a small, residential four-year school: between 25 and 49 out of every 100 degree-seeking undergraduates lived in institutionally controlled housing, and at least half studied full time.
That same 2019-20 profile places it among schools where at least 40 out of every 100 undergraduates study part time. That is not a majority, but it is a meaningful share, and it tells you something: this is not only a school for eighteen-year-olds who just graduated from high school. Students with different rhythms of life share this campus.
As for the degrees it awards, the 2021 Carnegie snapshot shows a relatively balanced distribution between arts and sciences and professional fields, with each accounting for between 41% and 59%. Nothing dominates overwhelmingly. And a practical warning: if you come across an old guide to this university, be careful. The classification it had in 2015 is not the one it has today.
IPEDS—the federal higher education data system—confirms that a master’s degree is the highest level it reports offering and classifies it as an institution primarily offering bachelor’s degrees or higher. That does not tell you whether your child’s specific major is available there or whether that major has a pathway from undergraduate to graduate study. Ask the university directly.
Geographically, it is in Odessa, Texas, in Ector County and within that city’s metropolitan area. That tells you where it is, not what the commute is like. If your child plans to live at home and drive every day, test it yourself: travel the route on a weekday at the exact time your child’s classes would meet. GPS almost never tells the whole truth.
And one fact is worth clarifying right away: The University of Texas Permian Basin has none of these three federal designations. It is not a historically Black college or university (HBCU), a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in this national directory, 138 have at least one of the three designations. The fact that this university does not have one says nothing about which communities it serves or how your child will feel there. You learn that by talking with someone who studies there now, not by reading a label.
Who Makes Up This Community and How Large It Is
Here is a fact that truly matters to many Latino families: in fall 2023, 52 out of every 100 undergraduates identified as Hispanic or Latino. That is half or more of the entire student body. Compared with the 519 selective-admission public four-year schools in this national census, it is among those reporting the highest proportions: nine out of ten of those schools reported an equal or lower figure.
If your child was worried about being “the only one” in the classroom, the numbers do not show that.
But be careful not to read more into this figure than it says. A high percentage of Latino students is not the same as specific support for Latino students. The figure counts how many students there are; it does not tell you whether counseling is available in Spanish, whether targeted tutoring is offered, or how many of those students complete their degrees. And it is the percentage for the entire school, not for the specific major that interests your child.
Other features of this community: 32 out of every 100 undergraduates are between 25 and 64 years old—one-third are adults who already have other life responsibilities. Women outnumber men, at 62 out of every 100 students. And 95 out of every 100 first-time students reported a permanent address in Texas when they applied. Above all, this is a school that serves its own state.
As for size, official fall enrollment stood at 5,899: neither among the small schools nor the huge ones, but squarely within the middle band of 5,000 to 9,999 and among the most common sizes for its peers. Of that total, undergraduate enrollment was 4,654 and graduate enrollment was 1,245. If your child is entering an undergraduate program, the relevant figure is 4,654, not the overall total: the larger number includes graduate enrollment, which can be misleading if you do not separate it out.
How the Academic Year Works and How Broad the Offerings Are
The calendar follows a semester system: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. The university reports accepting credit from AP exams, but it did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience. It also enrolls high school students in college-credit courses through a formal dual-enrollment program and accepts credit for military training.
Here is a warning worth its weight in gold: saying that AP credit is accepted does not mean you will receive credit for every exam or for every score. This report does not tell us what score is required or whether those credits apply to your child’s exact major. Ask for a written evaluation of equivalencies before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
As for degrees: in the most recently reported year, the university awarded 856 bachelor’s degrees across 22 distinct academic families. The largest family was business and management, accounting for 23 out of every 100 degrees—important, but far from dominating everything. No family accounted for 30 out of every 100 degrees or more. The offerings are broad, not concentrated in one or two paths. But keep this in mind: 22 families with activity in the report do not mean 22 specific majors. Each family groups several programs. Verify the exact name of the program that interests your child.
One figure worth examining carefully is the student-to-instructional-staff ratio of 20 to 1. Compared with similar schools, it is in the highest quarter—three out of four of its peers have an equal or lower ratio. This is an aggregate ratio, not a class size: it does not tell you how many students will be in your child’s first-year class. Ask the school directly.
Academic Pathways the Institution Reports Offering
Beyond traditional majors, this university reports offering study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, a complete program that can be taken exclusively in the evenings or on weekends, credit and noncredit developmental education, teacher-certification preparation below the postsecondary level, the opportunity to complete certain areas of teacher specialization there, and state approval of its initial teacher-certification program.
If any of these pathways interests your child—especially teacher certification or study abroad—it is worth adding it to your list of direct questions for admissions.
Getting In: What It Requires, How Accessible It Is, and Who Actually Stays
This is where many families become nervous, so let us take it slowly and in order.
The admissions policy. It is not open admission: the university reviews several components before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marks two as required: the high school GPA and, when applicable, an English-proficiency exam. If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask now whether that exam is required and what would qualify for an exemption. This is the kind of issue people discover too late if they do not ask in time.
Other components are not required but are considered if submitted: the complete academic record, class rank, whether the student completed the college-preparatory program recommended by the university, the essay, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or work sample, and work experience. The report does not say how much weight each component carries in the final decision.
The undergraduate application fee is $40.
How selective it is in practice. Of the 1,718 applicants in the 2023 cycle, 1,451 received an offer of admission: 84 out of every 100. Seven or eight out of ten are admitted. Compared with its peers, that is a common figure, slightly above the midpoint. This does not mean admission is automatic, and the figure comes from only one cycle. When your child applies, check the number for that exact year.
How high the enrollment rate is among admitted students. Something stands out here: of the first-time students admitted in 2023, only 46 out of every 100 ultimately enrolled. The other 54 did not come here. Compared with similar schools, this share of students who said “yes” but did not attend is among the highest: at fewer than one out of ten similar schools, a larger share of admitted students did not enroll. This figure does not measure quality or prestige; it only counts how many decided to enroll. When your child’s admission letters arrive, this figure should not decide anything: place the offers side by side and compare net price, major, and distance.
About the SAT and ACT. They are optional. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains equally valid. Among students who did enroll, 47 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores—a high submission rate among similar schools. Among those students, the middle half scored between 470 and 560 in reading and writing and between 440 and 550 in mathematics. These are the ranges for students who enrolled and submitted scores, not for all applicants: that 470 is not a minimum for admission, and that 560 does not guarantee anything either.
About transfers. This deserves an honest look. Of the first-time, full-time cohort that entered in 2017 seeking bachelor’s degrees, 142 students—32 out of every 100—transferred to another school without completing a degree here, within 150% of the normal time to completion. That is a high proportion compared with its peers: seven out of ten similar schools saw an equal or smaller share leave. At the same time, the university receives many students who transfer in: 605 undergraduates entered in fall 2023 after previously studying at another institution.
Here is something important that almost no one explains: a student who transfers to another school does not count as a graduate of The University of Texas Permian Basin, even if that student completes a degree elsewhere. Keep this in mind when you reach the graduation-rate section below. And the fact that many students transfer does not mean they did poorly here: the report tracks the movement, not the reason or the outcome.
The Price: What It Says on Paper and What Students Actually Pay
At The University of Texas Permian Basin, among 156 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and had EFC records showing family income below $30,000, the average net price was $7,684. Among 78 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $9,055; among 37 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $16,113. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (156 students) and the average for the highest-income band (37 students) is $8,429. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $10,143.
The advertised price is not the same as the price students pay. Here, for students with low incomes, the average net price was $7,684 in academic year 2022-23.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students with grants or scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
Financial Aid and Loans: Separating What Must Be Repaid from What Does Not
72 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some form of aid that does not have to be repaid—a grant or scholarship—with an annual average of $9,578 among recipients. And 41 out of every 100 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for low-income families.
Here is a clarification that will save you some confusion: do not multiply the percentage by the average. One tells you how many students received aid; the other tells you how much only the recipients received. They are two different calculations with different denominators, and they are from school year 2022-23.
As for loans, 30 out of every 100 undergraduates—from the entire undergraduate population, not only first-time students—received a federal loan that year, with an average of $7,484 among borrowers. Compared with similar schools, this proportion of students with loans is on the low side: seven out of ten similar schools had a higher proportion.
That average is for a single year and covers only federal loans in the student’s name. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit-card debt, and it is not the total debt someone carries upon graduation: calculating that would require adding together every year, and that figure is not in this report.
This percentage describes other families, not yours. You will learn how much your child would need to borrow from your child’s own financial-aid letter when it arrives in writing. Wait for it before ruling out this school and before committing to it.
The university also reports a guaranteed-tuition plan, an installment-payment plan, and participation in a Promise program. It is worth asking about all three if your family budget needs flexibility.
Campus Life, Sports, and Support Services
Institutionally controlled housing is available, with reported capacity for 1,100 students on or off campus, and it is not mandatory for all first-time, full-time students. Meal plans are also available, with a fixed number of meals per week in the largest plan. The existence of housing does not guarantee an available bed: ask in writing for the rate for the year, the application deadline, and whether a space is guaranteed or you will be placed on a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC, in its most recent report, the university did not indicate any ROTC opportunity, either in the general category or for any of the three branches. Among the four-year institutions in this guide, 926 out of 1,786 did report one; this institution was not among them. That does not prove there is no nearby pathway—it only means none was reported in that field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask directly before ruling out the option.
In sports, it competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA. It reports membership for football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This does not tell you whether there is a place for your child on the team or whether that sport offers scholarships: ask the coach directly and in writing.
As for mode of study, it offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and 40 out of every 100 undergraduates were taking all of their courses remotely in the fall count—a high proportion compared with similar schools. This figure covers the entire undergraduate population, not your child’s particular major: one major may be offered almost entirely online while the one next to it is offered almost entirely in person.
The library operates with paid staff and exceeded the government’s annual-spending threshold of $100,000; it has physical and digital materials and participates in interlibrary lending. Exceeding that threshold does not guarantee that it has the specific databases needed for your child’s major: ask using the program’s name.
Among the services and support it reports are combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for graduates, on-campus child care, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military members, a student veterans organization, and a webpage for disability services.
The Numbers That Matter Most: Who Stays and Who Graduates
This may be the most difficult section of the article, and I would rather tell you directly than soften it.
Retention from the first to the second year. Of the 634 full-time students who entered in fall 2022 seeking bachelor’s degrees, 389 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later: 61 out of every 100. Compared with similar schools, this university is among those retaining the smallest share of their entering cohort: nine out of ten similar schools retained a higher proportion. Among part-time students, retention was lower: 38 out of every 100, based on a small group of 39 people. Do not combine these two figures: they represent different groups with different circumstances.
Graduation in four and six years. Of the 449 students who entered in 2017 seeking bachelor’s degrees full time, 193 had graduated from this school within six years: 43 out of every 100. At four years, the figure was only 28 out of every 100—fifteen points lower, and four years is generally the period families budget for. Compared with its peers, it falls in the bottom quarter: three out of four similar schools graduate a higher proportion.
Put plainly, after six years, 43 out of every 100 members of that cohort had earned a degree here, and 57 had not. It is nearly half and half. The report does not explain the individual reasons in each case, and remember what we saw in the admissions section: students who transfer and finish at another school do not appear here as graduates, even if they completed their degrees elsewhere. Before deciding, ask what specific support the school offers to help students finish on time and how long the program that interests your child actually tends to take.
At eight years, the picture becomes a little more complete. Following a broader cohort of 1,339 undergraduates—first-time and previously enrolled, full time and part time—who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, 50 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate here by the August 2023 reporting date. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was similar: 51 out of every 100. IPEDS also reports that 25 out of every 100 had not received a credential here but appeared to have some enrollment elsewhere; because of an inconsistency in how that measure is defined, it is not possible to state precisely how many were still studying at the exact reporting date. Compared with similar schools, this eight-year proportion falls below the group’s midpoint.
None of these figures tells you what will happen to your child. They are averages for entire cohorts with stories the report does not tell. But they do tell you something real: at this school, completing a degree takes time and sustained effort, and it is worth enrolling with that knowledge instead of discovering it halfway through.
How to Put This Information Together in Your Decision
You now understand, in considerable depth, one of the three pieces you need to make a decision: what The University of Texas Permian Basin really is, how much it costs, whom it admits, who stays, and who graduates. It is a midsized public school with a majority-Latino undergraduate enrollment, relatively accessible admission, a net price that drops considerably for low-income families, and retention and graduation figures that call for specific questions about academic support and the actual time required to earn a degree.
You still need to combine this information with what your child wants to study and what your child has already accomplished in high school. And you need to place it alongside what your family can and is willing to pay, something you will know with certainty only when the financial-aid letter arrives in writing.
It is your child’s responsibility to decide what to study, work hard in the classroom, and find a place on that campus. It is your responsibility to understand the money, review the deadlines, ask the uncomfortable questions before signing anything, and provide support without carrying alone what your child must experience personally. This is not a journey you take for your child. It is one you take together.
Note on sources: the information in this article comes from official data reported by The University of Texas Permian Basin to the United States Department of Education’s IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), primarily covering the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent The University of Texas Permian Basin or any government agency; this article is not a substitute for official information the university may provide directly about your circumstances.