“BYU–Pathway Worldwide,” Ensign, August 2017
BYU–Pathway Worldwide
By Elder Kim B. Clark
In our day the Lord is moving with power in His Church to deepen learning and extend its reach to more and more of you. Perhaps the best example of the Church extending the reach of deep learning is the 2017 announcement of a new organization within the Church Educational System (CES) known as BYU–Pathway Worldwide. This new organization was inspired by the Pathway program.
Pathway
In 2009, the Church Board of Education authorized Brigham Young University–Idaho to create a new academic program called Pathway with the intent of opening opportunities for higher education to many more members of the Church. Pathway is a three-semester program that prepares students for higher education by taking online courses and gathering at an institute or meetinghouse each week to receive religious education and to participate in student-led discussions of the material in the online courses. The Pathway program is guided by local priesthood leaders and supervised by Church-service missionaries who mentor and support the students. Pathway’s threefold purpose is to (1) get the gospel down into students’ hearts, (2) help students become capable learners, and (3) prepare students to lead and support families.
Pathway now operates in approximately 500 sites worldwide and has served more than 57,000 students, opening doors of opportunity, increasing hope and faith in the Savior, and deepening learning for thousands of you. Completing the Pathway program has enabled many students to enroll in higher education opportunities, including certificate and degree programs offered online through BYU–Idaho or at local educational institutions.
BYU–Pathway Worldwide
The growth and success of the Pathway program has inspired the creation of a new organization, affiliated with all CES institutions, called BYU–Pathway Worldwide (BYU–PW). BYU–PW oversees Pathway and coordinates all other CES online higher education certificate and degree programs. The organization serves students through online courses and manages gathering activities in Pathway sites worldwide, including student-led academic discussions and workshops and local career services.
BYU–PW is the outgrowth of a policy approved by the Church Board of Education in November 2015: “The Church Educational System will seek to provide opportunities for education to the members of the Church wherever the Church is organized.”
BYU–PW can help you gain access to its online certificate and degree programs that will open up improved opportunities for employment. Combined with religious education in institute and learning by the Spirit in the Lord’s way, you can learn deeply wherever you study. In addition to academic advising, you will have access to advice and support from CES and Self-Reliance Services personnel to help you find internships and jobs or pursue local educational opportunities.
You can access BYU–PW programs, including Pathway, English language instruction, certificates, and degrees, through your local Church units and leaders. These programs are available in many areas now, and BYU–PW will continue to add new Pathway sites and new programs in a measured, steady way as the Church moves forward under the direction of the Lord.