KALAMAZOO, MI – It's not the kind of attention likely to make an enrollment brochure: The Atlantic magazine has called Western Michigan University's education degree a waste of money, saying that a typical U.S. high school graduate would earn $152,000 more over a 20-year span than someone with one of its teaching degrees.

The Atlantic named WMU's education degree one of the 'biggest wastes of money' in the U.S. But a closer look at the data reveals some major caveats.

In an article titled, "These U.S. Colleges and Majors are the Biggest Wastes of Money," The Atlantic ran a list of the 20 degrees in the country with the lowest 20-year-net return, according to PayScale.

WMU's education program was tied for No. 5, with Bowling Green University's education program. Eastern Michigan University was the other Michigan school to make the list, at No. 3 for its arts degree. No. 1 was an arts degree from Murray State University in Kentucky.

It makes for an arresting headline, but, at least when it comes to WMU, a closer look reveals some major caveats. Perhaps foremost: Only 4 percent of its education graduates are paying the out-of-state tuition rate used to come up with that $152,000 figure. And WMU falls out of the Top 20 if in-state tuition is considered.

Actually, all of the Top 5 use out-of-state tuition to calculate the rate of return on investment at the public universities. (Just five of the 20 "biggest wastes" are for in-state tuition. The first, at No. 7, is Murray State University's arts degree.)

Of the 1,591 students who enrolled in teacher education majors at WMU in the Fall 2013, 62 were out of state students, according to a university spokeswoman. Typically, an out-of-state student would only pay the higher non-resident rate for his or her first year. (Like many universities, WMU encourages its students to establish residency so that they're able to get the lower in-state tuition rate for the rest of their time there.)

It's also not a shock that teachers make less than, say, mechanical engineers and computer programmers, said Cheryl Roland, executive director of university relations. The average starting salary for public school teachers in Southwest Michigan ranges from $32,000 in Climax to $34,800 in Kalamazoo.

"This very odd list says a lot about teacher pay scales around the nation and literally nothing about the colleges and universities on the list," said Roland. "The only other takeaway is that nonresident tuition is almost always significantly higher than resident tuition at public universities. That probably will not surprise anyone, and there are reasons for that differential."

However, when in-state tuition is considered, WMU's education grads make $95,000 less over 20 years, according to PayScale, or $4,750 less a year. In recent years, Michigan has produced more elementary school graduates than it needs -- in 2011, some 5,000 of 7,500 new teachers left the state.

A few caveats about the PayScale data, which were noted by The Atlantic: It is all self-reported and self-submitted, and is dependent on the reporters' own honesty.

Also, there are no demographic adjustments. Graduates' salaries are being compared with a "typical" U.S. high school graduate. In 2012, median household income in Michigan was $46,859, compared with $51,371 for the U.S overall, roughly $4,500 lower.

Finally, PayScale is forecasting forward 20 years by looking at the past 20 years of earnings. (Just ask any journalism graduate from the 1990s: Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.)

For WMU's part, Roland also took issue with the idea that a career educating children could be considered a waste of time or money.

"Does anyone really believe it is a 'waste of money' to prepare for a teaching career? Do we assess the worth of a profession by its pay scale? Shouldn't we be looking at program quality, new teacher evaluations and the percentage of grads who find employment in their field and make a difference in the lives of students?" Roland said.

The most recent year reported, 2011-12, found that within six months of graduation, 86 percent of WMU's education graduates were either employed, in grad school or in the military.

"Those are the measures we look at in assessing our education programs," she said.