1. Online A-G Courses

2. Session Topics Overview and key definitions
Review process for “a-g” online courses
Highlights of key online course types
Online courses & “a-g” course lists / UC applications / student transcripts 2

3. UC and Online Learning
UC priority = accessibility of a broad range of college-preparatory online courses.
Online course policy revised in 2012.
Focuses on quality of online courses for “a-g” purposes.
Incorporates national quality standards for online courses and programs. 3

4. Then & Now: Online Institutions with A-G Course Lists
Institution Type
Under Former Policy
Under Revised Policy
# of Online Publishers 12 33
# of Online Schools 24 45
TOTAL 36 78 4

5. Then & Now: A-G Online Courses
Institution Type
# of Courses
Under Former Policy
Under Revised Policy
Online publishers
291
1030
Online schools
657
2455
Non-online schools
2288*
12,604
TOTAL
3236
16,089
*Excludes home-grown online courses 5

6. Home-Grown Online Courses Commercial / Publisher Online Courses
Key Definitions
What is an online course?
More than 50% of instruction is done through Internet-based methods with time and/or distance separating teacher and student.
Types of online courses:
Home-Grown Online Courses
Commercial / Publisher Online Courses
Developed by a school/district or by a publisher serving as the curriculum author.
Completes 2-step course submission process.
Purchased from an online publisher.
Delivered by a local school/district.
Completes an abridged course submission process. 6

7. More Key Definitions What is an online course publisher?
Develops their own online curriculum and sells or licenses their courses for delivery by a teacher or administrator at a local high school.
What is an online school?
Credit-granting institution offering all or the majority of their courses through Internet-based methods, with time and/or distance separating the teacher and student. 7

8. Review Process for A-G Online Courses
Online courses are approved in 2 steps and for a 3-year term:
Assessment against iNACOL course standards.
Review by UC for final “a-g” approval.
Review process applies to both:
Home-grown courses developed by online or non-online schools
Courses authored by online course publishers 8

9. Step #1: Assessment Against iNACOL Standards
Institution conducts self-assessment against 52 iNACOL course standards.
Must fulfill all 15 UC-identified “power standards,” and
Satisfy at least 27 of the remaining standards.
Self-assessment form completed as part of the new course submission form.
Submit self-assessment for review before completing remainder of the course submission form.

10. Step #2: UC A-G Course Review
Online courses reviewed using same criteria and process as non-online courses.
If online & classroom-based courses are the same, one submission for both versions.
If online & classroom-based courses are different, separate submissions for each version.

11. Commercial / Publisher Online Courses
Responsibility of online course publisher to undergo 2-step review process for “a-g” online courses every 3 years.
Adding an approved online publisher course to a course list:
Complete an abridged course submission process.
Not required to re-add courses every 3 years.

12. Laboratory Science Online Courses
OK if it has required, teacher-supervised, hands-on labs.
Laboratory science courses from an online publisher
Online publishers may submit courses to UC without lab component.
School required to submit the lab component when adding the publisher’s approved online lab science.

13. Visual and Performing Arts Online Courses
High school online courses in the visual and performing arts:
Not currently accepted.

14. Online Courses & the A-G Course List
Publisher online courses
Home-grown online courses
Courses taken through an online school
Add to your institution’s “a-g” course list.
Listed separately from classroom-based courses.
Added to your institution’s “a-g” course list.
Single listing on course list, if classroom-based and online version are the same.
Listed separately from classroom-based course, if online version is different.
Not added to your institution’s “a-g” course list.
Appears on the “a-g” course list of the online school. 14

15. Online Courses & the UC Application
Publisher online courses
Home-grown online courses
Courses taken through an online school
Reported with student’s high school “a-g” courses.
Reported as completed through the online school. 15

16. Online Courses & Student Transcripts
Publisher online courses
Home-grown online courses
Courses taken through an online school
Listed on student’s high school transcript.
Does not need to include special designation in transcript title.
Student must obtain transcript from online school.
Can also appear on student’s high school transcript, but not required. 16

17. Resources A-G Guide http://www.ucop.edu/agguide
Comprehensive website for everything “a-g”
Available as of February 1, 2015:
A-G Course Management Portal (A-G CMP)
Submit courses and manage course list information
A-G Course Lists
View any school’s or program’s “a-g” course list