School News

January 2020

Wanting to progress, many returned missionaries are unable to pursue higher education due to access, cost, and fear.

Returning Missionaries Now Preapproved

BYU-Pathway Worldwide is making it easier for missionaries to come home and receive the education they desire. Individuals who are completing or have recently completed a full-time mission are now preapproved to participate in PathwayConnect. Wanting to progress, many returned missionaries are unable to pursue higher education due to access, cost, and fear.

Knowing this opportunity is available can help them eliminate those roadblocks. President Gilbert has said, “Many returned missionaries don’t get a university degree. Providing more returned missionaries with the opportunity to earn a degree and gain marketable skills has the potential to bless the whole Church.”

New Graduation Planning Tool

Released in late 2019, BYU-Pathway Worldwide’s new graduation planning tool has been designed to guide online-degree-seeking students as they select a major and certificates, plan their courses, and register for classes. Through the tool, students can follow an outline of courses to take every semester that ultimately lead to a bachelor’s degree.

Tuition Reduced for Online Degree Programs

Because BYU-Pathway Worldwide is committed to providing low-cost education, tuition for BYU-Idaho online degree programs, serviced and supported by BYU-Pathway Worldwide, has been reduced 27 percent, from $172 to $125 per credit. For students who start with PathwayConnect, tuition is much less—$73 per credit in the United States and even lower in other countries. Regardless of whether students start with PathwayConnect or start directly into a degree program, tuition for an online degree through BYU-Pathway is significantly lower than at other universities.

Eligibility Requirements Modified for Online Degree Programs

Starting in January 2020, students who want to pursue an online degree through BYU-Pathway Worldwide will no longer be required to have either completed PathwayConnect or earned a minimum of 15 credits on campus at any of the universities operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. PathwayConnect, however, will still continue to be a primary entry point to earning an online degree because of its lower cost, peer support, and success in building academic confidence.