SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Tuesday announced a major expansion of its BYU Pathway educational program, which now is offered online and around the globe.
“This is a wonderful day for the church worldwide educational system. It is a day of hope and joy for many people worldwide,” said LDS President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, speaking at a Tuesday morning news conference.
BYU Pathway Worldwide course work, offered only in English, will include:
- Mandatory education on “The Book of Mormon” and the religious teachings of the LDS Church, to be taught at local meeting houses
- English and math classes
- Life skills classes to teach subjects including scheduling and basic financial topics, among other things
- And degree or certificate programs aimed at achieving technical expertise in an area such as health care, information technology, business or engineering, intended to lead to a job in the students’ region of residence
BYU Pathway, established in 2006, currently has an estimated 37,000 students enrolled, with that number expected to increase greatly with online availability, Uchtdorf said. Although BYU Pathway has 350 courses of study, only the most in-demand certificates will be offered online.
In January, new teaching sites opened in Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Peru, the Philippines, Spain, and in nine U.S. locations in Idaho, Florida, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Utah (Tremonton and Vernal). That brings total BYU Pathway locations to 440, according to information from Pathway’s information site.
BYU-Idaho President Clark Gilbert will leave that post to become commissioner of BYU Pathway Worldwide. The program will increase educational opportunity around the world, and can reach people with limited options, Gilbert said.
“BYU Pathway Worldwide opens doors for education and one of the ways it does that is through building confidence,” he said.
Like Brigham Young University and BYU Idaho, BYU Pathway Worldwide will be open to nonmembers of the LDS Church who agree to take religious study classes and live by church principles and the school honor code while enrolled.
Tuition costs are kept relatively low in part because LDS Church missionaries help administer the program, according to website information. Per-hour tuition costs range, by country, from $10 to $68.
