Change people's lives at home and around the world
January 2024
Starting in April 2024, Ensign College students can complete a bachelor’s degree in communication or information technology in as little as three years! In a process facilitated through BYU–Pathway Worldwide, Ensign College students will be able to graduate with a degree by earning 90 to 96 credits instead of the usual 120 credits—or four years of schooling—it normally takes to graduate.
Elder Clark G. Gilbert, commissioner of the Church Educational System, describes this new innovative option as “optimized”—the most effective use of resources. He says, “Providing access to affordable education everywhere the Church is organized is critical to what we do.” The three-year degree structure “will make completing a degree a possibility for many more people, particularly those who have not felt higher education was a viable option for them.”
Needing fewer credits to graduate means that students spend less time and less money seeking a degree. Ensign College is one of the first institutions in the US to receive accreditation for this new degree structure. Other innovators in higher education have also been exploring degree options that are based more on learning outcomes than the actual time in the classroom.
BYU–Pathway’s website explains that new students enrolling in the fall 2023 semester or after will be in a three-year bachelor’s degree program when they continue their education with BYU–Idaho or Ensign College.
“[This] will make completing a degree a possibility for many more people, particularly those who have not felt higher education was a viable option for them.”
—Elder Clark G. Gilbert
Depending on where they are in their program, current or returning students can switch to the three-year degree structure starting in spring semester 2024. This new offering will create an opportunity for more students to gain higher education and to enjoy the resources of Ensign College.
Reference: See Rachel Sterzer Gibson, “BYU–Idaho and Ensign College Announce New 3-Year Online Degrees Available Through BYU–Pathway,” Church News, 1 September 2023, thechurchnews.com/members/2023/9/1/23855577/byu-idaho-ensign-college-announce-new-three-year-degree-for-online-students.
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