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a-g Guide |
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Online Courses/PolicyPolicyThe online policy is intended to be flexible enough to accommodate synchronous, asynchronous, and blended online course providers, while simultaneously addressing the program features that UC faculty considers necessary to offer a quality online learning experience for students. These features include, among others, primary instruction and academic support by content experts, maintenance of a "human touch" in the learning process, and integrity of student assessment. Faculty has just recently expanded the online course policy to include criteria for "Partnership Applications". Full text of the online policy (doc) is available on this site. A letter of invitation (doc) and an application (doc) are also available for potential providers. Contact for additional information or with questions. Online Learning/Distance Education. In Fall of 2008 UC faculty approved a much anticipated policy that determines the criteria and process by which online courses may be utilized by students to satisfy the "a-g" subject requirements. The policy requires several steps:
To date, the University has approved the following online providers:
UC is in discussion with other providers and hopes to expand this list in the coming year. Since the review process will take an extended period of time to implement, UC will continue the policy and procedure used in recent years - i.e., accept any pre-approved courses offered by UCCP (for 2009-10) and/or Cyber High, and also will recognize the completion of other college-preparatory online courses if the high school principal certifies that a course is comparable to college-preparatory curriculum and ensures that the course and associated grades and credits are listed on the student's transcript. Important Note: UC will not accept any online courses in the areas of visual and performing arts (VPA) or laboratory science, unless science courses require an on-site wet lab component. For subject specific information see sections below. Q: What is the UC Policy regarding online courses meeting the "a-g" requirements? A: There are two ways in which UC may accept online courses taken by students for purposes of UC admissions.
Q: Can online courses be approved in all of the "a-g" subject areas? A: No. Online lab science courses will not be approved unless they include a supervised wet lab component. Since UC has not seen computer software that adequately replicates the laboratory experience, computer simulated labs will not be acceptable. Online visual and performing arts (VPA) courses will not be approved because it is difficult for students taking online courses to experience the required performance component of performance arts courses and/or replicate the expected portfolio component of visual arts courses. For more information see the Science and VPA courses section. Q: What online providers have been approved by UC? A: To date, the University has approved the following online providers:
The University is working with many other providers and hopes to approve many more providers as soon as possible. Q: How should the school list online courses on the student transcripts? A: In order for UC to grant credit toward UC eligibility/admissions for online courses, the high school must grant course credit toward graduation and assign a grade (or honor the grade assigned by the online provider). Both credits and grade must appear on the student transcript. Q: What if a school considers an online course appropriate for high school graduation, but not to satisfy UC "a-g" subject requirements? How can a school indicate this? A: There is no official UC recommendation regarding how to treat this situation, however one creative solution used by some schools is to post the course, along with credits, on the student's transcript, but list a grade of "Pass", rather than a letter grade. UC does not accept pass/fail grades, and thus would not allow the course to satisfy any of the "a-g" requirements. Q: Does UC have any recommendations/advice for high school leaders considering use of online courses for their students? A: UC faculty is most concerned that schools allowing students to use online curriculum provide an on-site mentor/supervisor to support those students. Further, they recommend that the school or district fully consider the infrastructure and support services necessary to assure success for students taking online courses. UC faculty and staff recommend that high school leaders refer to the California Department of Education (AB 294) guidelines (doc) and implement these practices and policies, as appropriate. ImplementationQ: When will the changes to the online policy be implemented? A: The University continues to implement the online course policy. A list of approved providers appears in the previous section. The University is working with many other providers and hopes to approve many more providers as soon as possible. Once providers have been approved, they will submit courses for approval and an "a-g" course list will be established for the provider. After that students will be able to take approved courses taken that year and in subsequent years. Q: Does the online policy allow for "Partnerships" between a curriculum provider and a school/district/organization? A. Yes, faculty recently expanded the online course provider policy to allow for the formation of partnerships. The full text of the online course policy (doc) and partnership application (doc) can be found on this site. Q: Until online providers have been approved with a course list, what online courses will be accepted as satisfying the a-g requirements? A: Until the policy is fully implemented, the previous (status quo) policy will remain in effect. That policy allows students to take courses listed on those programs’ Doorways course lists or any other online course offered by another provider as long as it is certified by the high school principal as comparable to other college prep courses offered by the school. The principal certifies a course by allowing it to be listed on the students’ transcript along with credits and grades. Online courses in lab science and VPA cannot be used to satisfy "a-g" requirements. Science and VPA coursesQ: Under the policy, will online lab science and visual & performing arts courses be accepted? A: No, not for the time being, but the policy is flexible and would allow for that future eventuality. However, UCCP lab science courses will continue to be accepted because they require an on-site wet lab component for all science courses. Q: Why are other online science courses not acceptable? A: UC faculty considers the experimentation process a critical component of any laboratory science course because it brings the scientific process to life. Although online labs have been created by several online providers, UC faculty is not convinced that they adequately replicate the wet lab experience. Q: Why are online visual and performing arts courses not acceptable? A: Similarly, UC faculty believes that performance is a necessary component of any performance arts course. Whether it is a course in band, choir, drama, dance, or painting/drawing the immediate feedback and coaching of an instructor (e.g., adjusting the toe point of a dancer, correcting the musical intonation of a student musician, advising greater voice projection for a student actor, or demonstrating correct technique for a student artist) is a critical and necessary component of any course. Course Lists and the Admissions Application ProcessQ: Must schools list on their Doorways "a-g" course list any and all online courses taken by students? A: No, not in most cases. Because online courses generally are offered by another educational institution and may be taken by individual students rather than a cohort of students from year to year, it is not necessary to list these courses on the schools’ "a-g" course lists. UC admissions staff on each of the campuses will refer to the Doorways "a-g" course list of each individual online provider to determine if a course taken by a student satisfies the "a-g" requirements. Q: In which cases should schools add an online course to their "a-g" course list? A: In some schools, a teacher offers the same course in two modalities – in the classroom and online. In this case, because it is a school-developed online course and the online curriculum (typically) is identical to the classroom curriculum, it should be listed on the school’s "a-g" course list, either as a distinct course or simply a different transcript abbreviation. Q: How will students report online courses when they apply to the University? A: On the online application, students will list each online provider as a separate institution at which they took classes. For example, a student may have completed courses at her home high school, a local community college, and through two online providers. She would list "a-g" approved courses for each of the four educational institutions. Other QuestionsQ: Will UC continue to accept online courses offered by California Community Colleges? A: Yes, UC has a separate articulation policy and process for articulating community college courses. Since the current policy guiding acceptance of online courses to satisfy the "a-g" requirements is silent regarding community college courses, UC will continue to accept those courses, as we have in the past, as long as they are listed on the ASSIST web site as UC transferable, are of 3 semester or 4 quarter units, and fall cleanly within one of the "a-g" subject areas. Q: Will CSU follow the same online policy as it pertains to acceptance of "a-g" courses? A: CSU's Admissions Advisory Committee has reviewed the policy and will make an official statement. |