Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate

Advanced Placement Course Audit. The University has received information from the College Board on courses that failed to receive authorization on first submission of the AP audit process and/or that, to date, have not received authorization through subsequent submission and review. We understand that the review process is ongoing, and that a number of courses are still under review. The University does not plan to remove the AP designation from any previously approved courses that appear on 2007-08 course lists but will review this information as it applies to 2008-09 course lists. If there is an error or change in the status of an Advanced Placement course offered by your high school, please let us know.

Q: Must our school's Advanced Placement (AP)and International Baccalaureate (IB) course titles be identical to (respectively) The College Board and International Baccalaureate Organization designated course/test titles?

A: Yes. If an AP or IB course is assigned a title that is different from the standard/expected one, it is sometimes quite difficult for UC to determine (1) if it is truly AP or IB course, and (2) which AP or IB course students are completing. For example, "AP Spanish" does not clearly indicated whether the course is "Spanish Language" or "Spanish Literature." Similarly, "IB Math" does not communicate which of the five IB mathematics courses are offered to/taken by students. UC is very familiar with the AP and IB curricula and automatically accepts all AP courses and most IB courses, but if the titles are not consistent with the standard/expected ones, the courses may not be approved.

Q: What can schools that offer few AP courses do to help their students become more competitively eligible for UC admission?

A: The UC College Prep Online (UCCP) provides online services for Advanced Placement, honors and other college preparatory courses to fill existing curriculum gaps in eligible California high schools. More information about the program can be found at http://www.uccp.org or call toll-free (866) 482-7737.

Q: Does UC require a complete course description/outline for AP and IB courses?

A: No. As long as the school follows the standard College Board curriculum (for AP courses) or the International Baccalaureate curriculum (for IB courses), UC automatically accepts all UC-approved AP, that have passed the AP audit process, and IB courses for UC Honors credit. No course description or other documentation is required. Simply add the standard approved course title to your course list and submit the update as you normally would. Indicate AP or IB at the end of the course title.

Q: Which International Baccalaureate (IB) courses receive UC honors credit?

A: In recent years, there has been confusion about the designation of UC honors status for IB courses. In June 2003, the BOARS committee reviewed all IB curriculum guides and compared them to AP curriculum guides. The resulting honors designations can be viewed on the "a-g" course list web site by searching for "International Baccalaureate."

UC has requested that IB schools make adjustments to their "a-g" course lists to accurately reflect current policy.

Q: Does UC grant honors credit for the IB Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course?

A: Because this course curriculum is not as well defined as others, and there is sufficient variation in curriculum and student expectations from school to school, the UC faculty has determined that UC may grant honors credit for the TOK course on a case-by-case basis, but each IB school seeking honors status for TOK must submit for review and approval their unique course description before a judgment is made.

Q: Will UC establish course equivalencies for IB exams, as it has done for AP exams? How about for IB Standard Level exams?

A: Yes, in fact all of the campuses have now established course equivalencies for IB Higher Level exams. These equivalencies are now available on the University of California admissions web pages.

Q: When UC grants honors status for a maximum of 1 year of a 2-year Higher Level IB sequence, which year (11th or 12th grade) receives honors weight?