Speeding up Higher Education: Revolutionizing Three-Year Degrees at BYU-Pathway Worldwide
BYU-Pathway Worldwide, a global online education provider, has been making waves in the world of higher education with its innovative three-year degree programmes. Launched in April 2024, these programmes are now serving nearly 75,000 students in dozens of countries.
The majority of students enrolled in BYU-Pathway are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Interestingly, students who choose to go on a mission receive a 25% discount.
Employers in the US, Europe, and Australia are increasingly seeking to hire African students and graduates from BYU-Pathway. These employers appreciate the students' honesty, English proficiency, and ability to work in teams across borders.
The three-year degree isn't just about saving time and money for BYU-Pathway and its president, Brian Ashton. It's about reimagining more affordable education in a global, digital age where traditional boundaries between work and learning have dissolved.
Each student at BYU-Pathway typically takes two seven-week block classes to retain more and do a better job of learning. The curriculum emphasises an experiential learning component, with students working with people from 20-30 different countries in almost every class.
The Higher Learning Commission and the New England Commission of Higher Education have both prepared guidelines for "reduced-credit bachelor's programs". These guidelines emphasise transparency and careful assessment of learning objectives.
In March 2024, the University of Maine System announced plans to develop a pilot program offering five 90-credit applied bachelor's degree programmes for adult learners. Plymouth State University will soon launch several 96-credit applied bachelor's degrees, including business administration, cybersecurity, and robotics.
Indiana's Senate Bill 8, signed in March 2024, requires all public four-year institutions to offer at least one three-year program. Utah authorises the first public 90-credit bachelor's degree at Weber State University in Fall 2025.
The "College-in-3" exchange, launched in 2021, aims to enlist 500 schools by 2027. This exchange is designed to redesign undergraduate curriculums for efficiency. Students at BYU-Pathway meet once a week, either in a local church building or online, to help each other and navigate the process.
These sessions are led by a volunteer couple or a student and are not for proselytizing but to help first-generation students establish community.
BYU-Pathway students have an 85% employment rate, with graduates being placed in jobs at major companies like Amazon, Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase, IBM, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The three-year degree concept was first featured in a Newsweek cover story in 2009. Since then, institutions like Western Governors University, Southeast Missouri State University, Merrimack College, and Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island have launched their own three-year or sub-120 credit bachelor's degree programmes.
Despite its success, the name of the president of BYU-Pathway Worldwide since 2021 is not available in the provided search results. However, the organisation's commitment to affordable, efficient, and globally-focused education remains unwavering.
