Background For the past several years, BYU-Idaho has overseen the Pathway program and BYU-Idaho online degrees. In a recent announcement, BYU Pathway Worldwide was created to independently oversee these two programs and develop many other new programs to help a worldwide church population. As part of the BYU Pathway Worldwide announcement, employees that administer the Pathway program will be asked to move to Salt Lake City, Utah. This move is for Pathway administrators and staff but not for the part-time student employees that make up much of the ground troops for Pathway support.
For many years, the BYU-Idaho Support Center (BSC) and the Pathway Support Center (PSC) have been partners in providing support to both the online and Pathway student populations. During this time of partnership, the BSC has supported online students, courses, and instructors; and the PSC has been a single front door for Pathway students helping with basic program information, PATH system support, and registration assistance. Observations: The SWOT model may need to be adjusted for BYU Pathway Worldwide for support and the connection between departments at BYUI and Pathway.
Strategy: Strengths Weaknesses • Labor cost • Establish Connection with Online Support • Common System with Online Support • Supply of laborers • BYUI Students • Physical Space • We can do it, so you do not have to · Distance from Salt Lake City • Pathway Administrators • Resources – FTE • Connection with Pathway Advising • Not everything is related to BYUI – there will be new programs • Length/detail of interaction (skype) • Communication cost Opportunities Threats • Average wage/Market • Rexburg Internet & System Failure
The BSC and PSC have had a partnership in the past and have worked rather well together; there are three options proposed below to help BYU Pathway Worldwide with the support of online and course issues: 1. We propose that all contacts go directly to BYU Pathway Worldwide. a. Issues will be received by Pathway, who will then contact Course Support at BYUI, directly. b. There will be more training due to the nature of a new department opening up in Pathway. c. There will need to be a connection and bond made with Course Support and BYU Pathway Worldwide.
2. We propose that BYU Pathway Worldwide will transfer contacts to the BSC. a. The BSC will help strengthen the bond between Pathway and Course Support. i. This will be done by having the issues transferred to the BSC by Pathway, which then the BSC will have access to fix the issue as needed. ii. This will happen in a placid transition, in order for the student not to notice that the transfer is across state lines. 1. This could work by using the Learning Management System (LMS), which is a secure connection for cisco, which will help with smooth transferring. . The BSC will alleviate Course Support’s work load. i. Pathway will need to make a new connection with Course Support. 1. There is a connection made already between the BSC and Course Support, which is an advantage, because there is a system as well as expectations set for the BSC employees and the Course Support team to follow. 2. This connection would be easier for Pathway to transition, because there are already employees who know the rundown of day-to-day issues, involving online and course issues. ii.
The BSC is able to serve Course Support better by keeping the connection strong with one another, as well as having employees specialized in troubleshooting for Pathway students. iii. This will help strengthen the bond between Pathway and Course Support by having a liaison guide Pathway through issues that are ambiguous. C. Why can’t Pathway do this? i. The BSC has the capacity to be more technical. ii. There are employees at the BSC who are skilled in fixing issues, specifically for issues involving online courses. iii. There will be perpetual contact with the Pathway Administrators to keep them informed. . With the BSC taking the Level 1 issues, it will help Pathway Administrators focus more on the big picture, instead of the day-to-day issues that could be solved by a different source option.
3. We propose that the BSC be utilized for all Level 1 issues for Pathway. (This will include cost, technicality, and even friendliness. ) a. The BSC is Level 1 for many departments on BYUI campus, in which there is much professionalism and friendliness. i. The BSC takes these contacts for departments so the departments are able to focus on improving internally. i. If the BSC took Pathway issues, the Pathway Administrators would be able to focus on the issues in their departments and improving the entire Pathway program. 1. The BSC is able to hire on at least one manager to stay in contact, consistently, with Pathway. b. BYU-Idaho employs students. i. Having a student speak with another student or potential student has its advantages, because there are experiences one person has that relates to another person’s situation, which makes the conversation flow better when helping a customer. ii.
The cost to hire someone at the BSC can quite possibly be lower, which will help save money to spend somewhere else at Pathway. iii. There will not be a shortage of BYUI students willing to work at the BSC. 1. The BSC can quite possibly hire those Pathway student employees that did not move to Salt Lake City, which can help with a smoother transition with the BSC taking on all contacts for Pathway. 2. The BSC also does not have a shortage of physical space, meaning the BSC can hire many people to serve the needs for all student types.
C. The BSC and Course Support have been working together for quite a while now, and have a relationship that continues to grow. I. That relationship can become stronger, if the BSC takes on the contacts for Pathway. ii. There is already a common system with online support, which means that there does not need to be one established again, or even training in this system. iii. The BSC is also in close proximity with Course Support, which is an advantage, because it is easier to communicate with one another.
d. Something to consider is that the Rexburg Internet and the System are prone to fail, but that can be solved by using the Learning Management System (LMS) to secure connection for cisco. i. Using the LMS will help when students call us directly e. There is an issue regarding the length and detail of conversation with Pathway Students. i. In the Pathway Department, skyping was common, which is something the BSC does not do. The BSC is willing to train the employees how to use skype and the process in which the employees will need to go through to solve issues. f. There will be a communication cost for Pathway. . Cost analysis included contacts presented by the BSC and Pathway with 50,000, 100,000, 150,000, 200,000, and 250,000 contacts.
1. The BSC wage is approximately $9. 00, while Pathway’s wage is approximately $11. 00. a. For 50,000 contacts, the difference between Pathway and the BSC would be $13,333. 33. i. Including communication costs: $7,093. 33. b. For 100,000 contacts, the difference between Pathway and the BSC would be $26,666. 67. i. Including communication costs: $20,426. 67. C. For 150,000 contacts, the difference between Pathway and the BSC would be $40,000. 00. i. Including communication costs: