1. Online Courses & the University of California’s A-G Subject Area Requirements
Hannah Frankel
High School Articulation Analyst
University of California | Office of the President
California Consortium for Independent Study (CCIS) Conference
January 31, 2014

2. Today’s Session Overview and key online policy definitions
New “a-g” review process for online courses
Next steps for institutions with existing online courses
Additional policy highlights

3. Overview and Definitions
California Consortium for Independent Study (CCIS) Conference
January 31, 2014

4. A-G Course List
UC and CSU admissions requirements include satisfying a 15-course pattern of “a-g” college-preparatory courses.
May only use courses that appear on a “a-g” course list.
Submit “a-g” courses and revisions via the A-G Online Update website:
Approve courses for “a-g” purposes based on criteria established by UC faculty.
Course list accuracy is important!
Course lists available at

5. A-G Course Submission Timeline
New update cycle opens on February 1
PHASE 1
February 1-May 31
New courses submitted have up to 2* resubmission opportunities
PHASE 2
June 1- July 31
New courses submitted have 1 resubmission opportunity
PHASE 3
August 1-September 15
New courses submitted have no resubmission opportunity
Update cycle closes on September 15
*Phase 1:
1st resubmission due by July 31
2nd resubmission due by September 15

6. Big Changes for 2015-16! NEW A-G Course Management System or A-G CMP.
Replace the Online Update website.
Part of UC’s initiative to improve overall “a-g” course submission and review process.
Major highlights:
Clarifying and updating the “a-g” subject area course criteria.
Developing and distributing new “a-g” course evaluation rubrics.
Streamlining the course submission form to align with the “a-g” course criteria.
Increasing “a-g” resources and Articulation staff.

7. Key Definitions What is an online course?
More than 50% of instruction is through Internet-based methods with time and/or distance separating teacher and student.
What is a commercial online course?
Courses that are sold or licensed to individual schools or district for delivery by the high school or online school.
What is a non-commercial online course?
Teacher-created, home-grown online courses offered by the local high school or district only to their students.

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

9. NEW A-G Review Process for Online Courses
California Consortium for Independent Study (CCIS) Conference
January 31, 2014

10. Home-Grown / Non-Commercial Courses
NEW Online Course Review Process:
Assessment against iNACOL course standards.
CLRN course certification, OR
Self-assessment conducted by institution
Review by UC for final “a-g” approval.
Effective for new courses in the update cycle.
Effective for online institutions for update cycle.
Online courses approved for 3-year term.

11. Type of Institution / Online Educational Program
Step #1: CLRN Certification vs. Self-Assessment
Type of Institution / Online Educational Program
CLRN Certification
Self-Assessment
Online course publishers serving public schools 
Online course publishers serving only private institutions
Public high schools opening home-grown online courses to students outside of their district
Public high schools opening home-grown online courses only to students within their district
Private high schools

12. Step #1A: CLRN Certification
A CLRN-certified course must:
Meet at least 80% of CA Content or Common Core Standards.
Fulfill all 15 “power standards” from the iNACOL course standards.
Satisfy at least 27 of the remaining iNACOL course standards.
CLRN certifies only courses that align with a set of standards.
Courses not aligned with standards are self-assessed (Step #1B).
To submit a course to CLRN:

13. Step #1B: Self-Assessment
Institution conducts self-assessment against iNACOL course standards.
Self-assessment form completed online as part of the new course submission for UC “a-g” review.
Paper version of self-assessment form available on “a-g” Guide.

14. Online Course Self-Assessment Form
URL:

15. Step #2: UC A-G Course Review
Submit courses to UC for final “a-g” review.
Courses submitted via Online Update website.
May only submit CLRN-certified or self-assessed courses.
Single submission if online & classroom curricula are the same.
Separate submissions if online & classroom curricula are different.
Online courses reviewed using same criteria and process as non-online courses.

16. Commercial / Purchased Online Courses
Responsibility of online course publisher to undergo 2-step “a-g” course review process every 3 years.
Adding UC-approved online courses from a publisher to an “a-g” course list:
Courses are submitted as “previously approved” courses.
Not required to re-add courses every 3 years.
Courses from publishers must be on your “a-g” course list!
Why? So students can use the courses to satisfy “a-g” subject requirements.
Do not put courses from online schools on your “a-g” course list.
Publishers’ “a-g” course lists available on Course List website.

17. Next Steps: Existing Online Courses
California Consortium for Independent Study (CCIS) Conference
January 31, 2014

18. Commercial / Purchased Online Courses
update cycle: Online publishers completing re-review process through January 31.
update cycle: NO actions required for publisher courses that were re-approved under new policy.
Re-approved courses will remain on “a-g” course lists.
What if a publisher’s online course was not re-approved?
Course will be removed from “a-g” course lists on Feb 1.
NOT affect students that completed the course during or before the academic year.
Course could earn re-approval during update cycle.
Institutions will need to re-add course to “a-g” course lists.

19. Home-Grown / Non-Commercial Online Courses
Identified home-grown online courses in demographic information submission during update cycle.
On “a-g” course list, home-grown online courses marked with the note: “A version of this course may be offered online.”
To maintain course approval for year and beyond:
Conduct self-assessment against iNACOL course standards.
Use “Revise Course” section to submit assessment.
Begins online course’s 3-year approval term.
Deadline to complete assessment: May 31, 2014.
UC will remove all non-assessed online courses on June 1.

20. Additional Policy Highlights
California Consortium for Independent Study (CCIS) Conference
January 31, 2014

21. Additional Policy Highlights
Principal certification for non-UC-approved online courses
Not acceptable for online courses completed in year and beyond.
Acceptable for summer 2013 courses completed by students entering 11th and 12th grades.
Non-online institutions offering online courses required to meet UC’s institutional expectations.

22. Lab Science & VPA Online Courses
Online courses in the laboratory sciences.
OK if it has required, supervised, on-site wet labs.
NEW process for lab science courses from online publishers
Online publishers may submit courses to UC without the lab component.
Schools intending to add UC-approved online lab science courses from an online publisher are required to submit the lab component.
Online courses in the visual & performing arts.
NOT currently accepted.
Online college-level laboratory science and visual & performing arts courses ok!

23. Resources California Learning Resource Network (CLRN)
International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)
University of California “a-g” subject requirements:
A-G Course Lists –
A-G Online Update –
A-G Guide –
UC High School Articulation unit
Phone: (510)