The DISCOVERe course program is a result of university president Dr. Joseph I. Castro’s vision to keep Fresno State students as technologically adept as possible while keeping course costs low.
DISCOVERe director Mike Pronovost plans to rework the registration process and highlight the fact that nearly 60 percent of all DISCOVERe courses are completely free with no required textbook to purchase.
Overall, a DISCOVERe course has a 72 percent cost savings compared to a traditional course, Pronovost said. The hope is to dispel any hesitation a student may have, be transparent about the cost of the course and encourage students to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
Early on, there was a specific device requirement. That is no longer the case. The program allows students to use any tablet or laptop, and faculty members utilize apps that are available across all devices.
If a student does not own a device, the university can provide an iPad Pro on loan completely free of charge. As long as a student continues to enroll in at least one DISCOVERe class a semester, one could potentially use the iPad for their entire college career, Pronovost said.
Faculty members are trained to use the most up-to-date technologies to elevate the classroom experience.
For example, professors can record a lecture using lecture-capture technology, upload it to YouTube and timestamp the video at the beginning of each new subject addressed. Students can watch the parts of the lecture that are most relevant to their own learning needs.
Professor can then use data gathered from Google Analytics to view patterns in the way students watch the video, and adjust the lesson accordingly to address any areas students may have difficulty understanding.
Trends show positive growth projections for the program and increased student satisfaction, Pronovost said. Most recently, the program recruited the largest faculty cohort, 80 members, to join.
When the program first launched in fall 2014, 40 faculty members were trained to offer DISCOVERe classes, and about 1,000 students enrolled, Pronovost said in an interview.
Today, the program has nearly 400 faculty members teaching DISCOVERe classes and 12,000 students enrolled.