4. Net Income Per Common Share

Basic earnings per common share is calculated by dividing net income available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per common share reflects the assumed conversion of all potentially dilutive securities, consisting of stock options and restricted stock awards, for which the estimated fair value exceeds the exercise price, less shares which could have been purchased with the related proceeds, unless anti-dilutive. For employee equity awards, repurchased shares are also included for any unearned compensation adjusted for tax. The table below reflects the calculation of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding, on an as if converted basis, used in computing basic and diluted earnings per common share.


	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Denominator:
Basic weighted average shares outstanding		47,316		46,231		47,083		45,953
Effect of dilutive stock options and restricted stock		976		944		1,114		1,056

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding		48,292		47,175		48,197		47,009

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding exclude the incremental effect of unvested restricted stock and shares that would be issued upon the assumed exercise of stock options in accordance with the treasury stock method. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, approximately 3 and 458, respectively, of the University’s stock options and restricted stock awards outstanding were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share as their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. These options and restricted stock awards could be dilutive in the future.