University of California's Role in Fostering Innovative Career Technical Education Courses That Meet University of California Admission Requirements

In 1999, the Governor's School-to-Career Advisory Council commissioned the "a-g" Interactive Guide Project to underscore the importance of simultaneously preparing high school students both for careers and postsecondary education. With approval from the Interagency Partners the initial phase of the project was funded through a contract awarded to the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) by the School-to-Career fiscal agent, the Employment Development Department (EDD). A few years later, with the sunset of School-to-Career funds, the project became funded by the California Department of Education (CDE) using Carl Perkins funds. These funds continue to be the primary funding source for the project, up until 2008. Presently, the Project is funded with SB 70 Career Technical Education funds until 2013.

The "a-g" Guide Project was originally designed to make the "a-g" course approval process more transparent and efficient by clarifying criteria and offering a variety of tools, resources, support and assistance to California high school educators who seek "a-g" approval for their courses. After many years of operation, the project has proved its value and has received strong endorsement from secondary schools, UC admissions staff, the UC Board of on Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) and CDE. The project continues to operate, keeping the "a-g" Guide web site current with changing information, adding resources in new areas of development and/or school reform, providing targeted workshops to those seeking assistance, and more.

More recently, the state has embarked on an ambitious agenda to support and expand the development of Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities within schools. Initiatives such as workforce innovation partnerships, the expansion of California Partnership Academies, ROC/Ps and Tech Prep programs, the development of State Board of Education-approved CTE standards (2005) and curriculum frameworks (2007), and CTE-related legislation (i.e. SB 1543, SB 70 and others) have combined to place greater attention on issues related to the development and expansion of "a-g" courses that include an academically rigorous CTE component.

Since the 2001-02 year, the number of CTE courses accepted for "a-g" approval has increased dramatically. In 2001, UC had approved just 258 CTE courses. Today, over 9000 CTE are approved for "a-g" credit or about 32.4 percent of the 23,600 CTE courses offered in California schools. Moreover, it is expected that the number of approved CTE courses will continue to climb. Pursuant to SB 1543 (2006), the University has developed model uniform academic standards for career technical education courses to provide more guidance to teachers who want their CTE courses approved by UC.

The long range goal of the Project is to continue to operate and keep the a-g Guide web site current with changing information by adding resources to strengthen and communicate the course review process. In addition, the University is utilizing a multi-pronged approach to more fully integrate academically rigorous career technical education into the classroom. This three-part strategy includes (1) expanding the availability of academically rigorous CTE curriculum by developing industry-specific model courses for statewide use that meet "a-g" subject requirements; (2) providing workshops, web-based tools and other forms of assistance, such as the Curriculum Integration Program and the Cadre of Experts, to those seeking help related to the development and submission of courses for "a-g" approval, and, (3) ensuring rapid and consistent approvals of academically rich CTE courses so that more CTE classes meet the approval of the University for its "a-g" requirements in all academic subject areas.