New Course Certification
New developments and directions in high school curricula have generated considerable interest in the process of course approval. To foster and facilitate our cooperation in these matters, UC offers the following recommendations:
- Make this material regarding the "a-g" requirements widely known to your staff. Feel free to photocopy this material and refer staff to the a-g Guide web site at www.ucop.edu/doorways/guide. In addition to the information in this packet, the "a-g" Guide includes dozens of standard, honors, and innovative course descriptions, as well as tools and resources designed to assist schools in the course design and submission process. These course descriptions should be used only as guides, i.e., "FOR REFERENCE ONLY." New course descriptions should be original, created to reflect accurately the curriculum that will actually be taught at each individual school.
- Consult with trained UC and high school colleagues early on as you plan new courses and new ways to restructure your curriculum and patterns of course offerings. The process of early consultation has worked very well in the past. You can find your local "experts" on the "a-g" Guide web site at www.ucop.edu/doorways/guide, under the "Cadre of Experts" tab.
- Consult nearby UC faculty for assistance in developing new curriculum. They may be willing to work with you to ensure that a course is appropriately rigorous (in content and level) before submitting it for approval.
- Ensure that new courses are intellectually challenging, include substantial reading and writing, require critical thinking and problem solving (as appropriate), and show attention to patterns of critical thinking.
- use the "Course Description Template" (and accompanying instructions) to ensure that all necessary information is included. Download template.
