University of California A-G Process Information

For those involved in helping high schools get University of California A-G approval for ICT courses, which helps build pathways to ICT careers for high school students with little room in their schedules:

2013-14 A-G Course List Update Cycle – OPENING MARCH 1, 2013

Due to technical difficulties, the Online Update website will open on March 1, 2013 for the 2013-14 course list update cycle. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause. The Online Update website will close on Sunday, September 15, 2013 at midnight PST for all new course submissions, resubmissions and other course list updates for the 2013-14 academic year. Verification of your institution's demographic information, including school accreditation information, must be submitted each year to publish your “a-g” course list on the “a-g” Course List website at https://doorways.ucop.edu/list. Your course list should reflect those courses that will be offered at your school during the upcoming school year. Please use the Online Update site at https://doorways.ucop.edu/update to submit updates to your course list. More information on submitting new courses for “a-g” review, including tips and resources for writing “a-g” courses, can be found on the “a-g” Guide at http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/updating-your-course-list/submitting-courses/index.html.

NEW Three-Phase A-G Course Submission Cycle

Beginning with the 2013-14 update cycle, a new phased timeline will be implemented to improve the overall “a-g” course review process. All new course submissions, resubmissions and course list revisions must be received by UC via the Online Update website by Sunday, September 15, 2013 at midnight PST. The course update cycle will be divided into three distinct phases:

• Phase 1 (March 1 - June 1): New courses initially submitted during Phase 1 may have up to two opportunities for resubmission if the course is not initially approved.

• Phase 2 (June 2 - August 1): New courses initially submitted during Phase 2 may have one opportunity for resubmission if the course is not initially approved.

• Phase 3 (August 2 - September 15): New courses initially submitted during Phase 3 will have no opportunities for resubmission if the course is not initially approved. Any courses not approved after the September 15 final deadline must be submitted as new courses using the “New Course” section during the next update cycle that will open in February 2014.

A comprehensive timeline of the “a-g” course submission cycle can be found on the “a-g” Guide at http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/updating-your-course-list/dates-deadlines/index.html.

2012-13 A-G Course List Update Cycle

Our articulation analysts are working as quickly as possible to complete the reviews of your submitted course descriptions from last year. More than 8,000 course submissions – about a third of the total submissions received last cycle – came in during the final weeks of the update cycle. Courses that were not approved during the previous cycle can be submitted as new courses using the “New Course” section when the Online Update website opens for the 2013-14 update cycle on March 1. Please do not submit another new course description until you receive an e-mail notification with the results from your original submission – this will not expedite the review and approval process. Access to course submissions from the 2012-13 and previous update cycles, including feedback on any non-approved courses from last year, will be available beginning March 1. The 2012-13 course review results can be found on the Online Update website (https://doorways.ucop.edu/update) in the “Find Submission” section at that time.

New Online Course Policy – Changes for Online AND Non-online Institutions

As of May 2012, UC faculty approved a revised version of the University’s policy for “a-g” online courses. A summary of the policy is available on the “a-g” Guide at http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/online-learning/policy-changes/index.html. Online courses already approved by UC and offered by online providers and online schools will remain valid for “a-g” purposes through the end of the 2013-14 academic year. Effective for the 2013-14 school year, all online courses offered by any online course publisher or online school will be required to undergo the review process outlined in the new online policy. Beginning with the 2014-15 academic year and update cycle, all non-online institutions will also be required to comply with the new online course review process. Please remember that the principal certification option for non-UC-approved online courses will no longer be acceptable beginning with the 2013-14 academic year. A UC-hosted webinar that will provide additional information on the new “a-g” online course policy and processes will be offered this spring – please see below.

Upcoming Webinars! – REGISTER NOW

The High School Articulation unit at the University of California Office of the President is pleased to offer two free webinars:

1)       New User Training – Updating the A-G Course List Webinar (March 13 10:00 -11:30 AM) – This webinar geared toward new users (returning users are welcome too!) will focus primarily on the “a-g” course list update process, providing step-by-step instructions, helpful hints, resources and tools to assist those writing, preparing and submitting courses for UC “a-g” approval. To register, please go to: https://ucadmissions.webex.com/ucadmissions/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=661732070.

2)      New Online Policy Webinar (April 21 10:00-11:30 AM)– This webinar will focus on the new policy for “a-g” online courses and requirements for both online and non-online institutions offering online courses. Important deadlines, processes and criteria required by institutions offering an online course will also be covered. To register, please go to: https://ucadmissions.webex.com/ucadmissions/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=666071395.  

Registration is required to attend. Please feel free share this registration link with other administrators at your school or district who might benefit from these presentations. For those unable to attend, the recorded webinars will be posted on the “a-g” Guide at http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/get-help/trainings/index.html.

UCCI Institutes – Applications open through February 25
There’s still time to apply to the Spring 2013 UCCI Institutes, which will be held April 11-14, 2013 at the Westin SFO in Millbrae. The Institutes bring together CTE and academic teachers to create high school courses that integrate college-preparatory academics with career technical education. Applicants selected to participate will receive a $550 stipend and will earn 2.5 Continuing Education Units from the Education Department at UCLA Extension. Meals and lodging, though not travel expenses, are covered for participants. UCCI also can provide up to $250 to participants’ schools and districts to help cover sub costs.

Each session of the UCCI Institutes features two college-prep/CTE pairings. The Spring 2013 Institutes pairings are:

·        Health Science and Medical Technology CTE industry sector with Language other than English (“e”)

·         Arts, Media and Entertainment CTE industry sector with History/Social Science (“a”)

The application deadline is February 25, 2013. More details including links to the applications and the deadline for applying are available at the following links: Arts, Media, and Entertainment/History Institute [PDF] and Health Science and Medical Technology/LOTE [PDF].

New UCCI Courses

The courses produced at the UC Curriculum Integration Institutes (UCCI) blend core academic subjects such as English, history and mathematics with Career Technical Education (CTE). Recent UCCI Institutes have produced such unique courses as:  Spanish for the Entrepreneurial Mind, which grounds third-year Spanish language instruction in the context of entrepreneurship; Constructing Algebra 2, which takes a project-based learning approach to traditional Algebra 2 curriculum, with students completing hands-on projects resulting in the construction of a scale model or actual home; and Biological Connections to Energy and Environment, which answers such questions as, “What role does cellular biology play in our need for energy?” and “How do the various forms of energy (natural and manmade) affect the biology of our environment?”

UCCI courses have “program status,” which means they can be added to the course lists of any high school in California in the same manner as AP or ROP courses.  The complete course frameworks will be accessible on the new UCCI website, http://ucci.ucop.edu, which will launch on February 15.

Sincerely,

High School Articulation

University of California Office of the President