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SALT LAKE CITY — In a move aimed at helping students save time, money and launch their careers sooner, BYU-Pathway Worldwide last month began offering three-year bachelor's degree programs for the first time, through BYU-Idaho and Ensign College.
The program eliminates elective credits while maintaining required major and general education courses, to help students reach their educational goals faster.
The impact on students, said BYU-Pathway Worldwide President Brian Ashton, is expected to be immense. Part of this is due to the unique makeup of the school's 65,000 students, with more than 60% coming from countries like Nigeria, the Philippines, Ghana, Brazil and Mexico.
Furthermore, 1 in 5 BYU-Pathway students reports an income below the World Bank poverty line. And the new degree program offers a glimpse of light at the end of a tunnel.
"When you think about the needs of our students, they need to get through school quickly so that they can improve their job prospects," Ashton said. "Many of them live in areas where labor markets don't work very well. They may be struggling to put food on the table. Anything we can do to speed up their progress towards a bachelor's degree makes a big difference in their lives."
With less time also comes less burdensome costs.
Ashton said for a 90-credit, three-year bachelor's degree, the initial cost is $6,200. And, that's without any scholarships. The minimum scholarship brings the cost down to $5,500.
"Internationally, we adjust the price ... based on the GDP compared to the U.S.," Ashton said. "In Africa, for example, most students can finish a bachelor's degree for under 300 U.S. dollars. We want as many people to be able to access university-level education as possible."
BYU-Pathway's online model allows students to earn "job-enhancing" certificates on their way to a degree. Additionally, most of the coursework is asynchronous, meaning students can complete it at times that work for them.
BYU-Idaho offers five such degrees — applied business management, family and human services, software development, applied health and professional studies; while Ensign College offers two — communications and information technology.
The degrees require 90 to 96 credit hours for completion.
"The universal reaction has just been tremendous excitement. They (students) just see this as a way that they can move forward in their lives faster. So that's been really fun to see and to talk with the students about," Ashton said. "It makes sense for our students because of who they are and what they're trying to achieve in their lives."
People can find more information about the program at byupathway.edu.
