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BYU-Pathway is expanding worldwide. This exceptional article by Tad Walch discusses the impact on Africa.
The pathway
Meet the Africans pioneering a unique approach to higher ed
https://www.deseret.com/2023/8/24/23826563/byu-pathway-worldwide-africa
Excerpt:
Those involved with the program believe it’s impacting not just the program’s sponsoring faith institution in Africa but is reshaping what higher education might look like in African society writ large. On the continent today, only about 8-9 percent of the population has access to a college education. As one source puts it, there simply “aren’t enough seats.” With low supply comes pent-up demand. That demand accounts for BYU-Pathway’s explosive growth there.
Among Latter-day Saints who choose to serve two-year missions, in some pockets of Africa nearly 50 percent are currently enrolling in BYU-Pathway when they return home. Today, enrollment in online certificate and degree programs through BYU-Pathway and its partners is approaching 20,000 students. The program launched on the continent in 2017 and already Africans comprise roughly 27 percent of BYU-Pathway’s global student body.
“Our compound annual growth rate has averaged 78 percent a year in Africa,” BYU-Pathway President Brian Ashton says. “This is persistent, unparalleled enrollment growth. Within the next five years, we think that we’ll get to about 44,000 students in Africa.”