Fast Forward:University of California’s A-G Online Course Policy

& the Growth of Online Learning

Monica H. Lin, Ph.D.

Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions

University of California | Office of the President

e-Learning Strategies SymposiumDecember 6, 2013

2

Overview

UC’s “a-g” course lists & course review process

Online course policy highlights & updates

2013-14 policy outcomes

Challenges & successes for online learning

A-G Course Lists &Course Review Process

4

A-G Course Lists

UC and CSU admissions requirements include satisfying a 15-course pattern of “a-g” college-preparatory courses

UC reviews high school courses based on criteria established by UC faculty

Approved courses appear on “a-g” course lists used in University admission evaluations

Submit “a-g” courses and revisions via the A-G Online Update website: https://doorways.ucop.edu/update

5

A-G Course List Update Timeline

2014-15

A-G Online Update website opens for

course submissions on

February 1, 2014

PHASE 1

February 1-

May 31, 2014

New courses submitted may have up to 2 resubmission opportunities

PHASE 2

June 1-

July 31, 2014

New courses submitted may

have 1 resubmission opportunity

PHASE 3

August 1-September 15,

2014

New courses submitted have no

resubmission opportunity

All new course submissions and resubmissions

are due by September 15,

2014

*January 1-July 15, 2014: Submission period for New Online Publisher/School Information Forms to establish an “a-g” course list with UC

UC’s Online Course Policy Highlights & Updates

7

Key Definitions

Online course– More than 50% of instruction is done through Internet-based

methods with time and/or distance separating teacher and student

– Commercial vs. non-commercial (home-grown) online courses

Online course publisher– Develops own curriculum to sell/license– Online course delivered by teacher within a high school or district

Online school– Diploma-granting institution offering all or a majority of online

courses

8

Establishing an A-G Course List

New online course publishers1) Assess courses against iNACOL course standards

2) Complete UC’s New Online Course Publisher Information Form by July 15

New online schools1) Obtain ATP/CEEB code from the College Board

2) Obtain proof of accreditation (or candidacy for accreditation)

3) Assess courses against iNACOL course standards

4) Complete UC’s New Online School Information Form and the Online Program Self-Assessment Form by July 15

9

Two-Step Review ProcessSubmit online course to CLRN for review*

Assess the online course against the iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Courses and CA content standards

CLRN-certified OR

Self-assessed

Submit online course to UC for “a-g” review

Conduct subject-specific review against UC faculty’s course criteria

Approve course for “a-g”?

Add course to online publisher’s or online school’s “a-g” course list; approval expires in 3 years

STEP 1

STEP 2

*If not eligible for CLRN review, the online course must be self-assessed by the online publisher or school.

YES

10

CLRN Certification vs. Self-Assessment

*The California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) will review and certify online courses that align to a single set of California Content Standards or Common Core State Standards. In place of CLRN certification for courses that are not eligible for CLRN review, the institution/program will conduct a self-assessment of their courses against the iNACOL course standards.

Type of Institution / Online Educational ProgramCLRN

CertificationSelf-

Assessment

Online course publishers serving public schools * *

Online course publishers serving only private institutions *

Public high schools opening home-grown online courses only to students within their district *

Public high schools opening home-grown online courses to students outside of their district * *

Private high schools *

11

Lab Science & VPA Courses

Laboratory science (“d”) courses– May be approved by UC if they include a supervised, on-site, wet

lab component that accounts for at least 20% of class time 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

Visual & performing arts (“f”) courses– Not allowable under current UC policy– May still be submitted to CLRN for review and certification

12

Next Steps for 2014-15

Online course publishers & online schools– Courses approved prior to 2013-14 must be CLRN-certified or

self-assessed to retain “a-g” approval– If not, previously approved courses must be submitted to UC as

new courses during 2014-15 update cycle

Online schools (with “a-g” courses approved prior to 2013-14)

– Submit a program self-assessment against iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Programs to retain an “a-g” course list

13

Next Steps for 2014-15

Non-online high schools, districts, and programs– Home-grown, non-commercial online courses must undergo the

two-step review process Courses not CLRN-certified or self-assessed will be removed from

course lists on June 1, 2014

– Purchased UC-approved online courses must be re-added to course lists for non-online entities

2013-14 Policy Outcomes

15

Online Publishers & Schools

300% increase in number of online publishers and schools with “a-g” course lists

Institution TypeUnder Former Policy

2006-2012Under New Policy

2013

Online publishers 11 19Online schools 4 49Both 3 4

Total 18 72

Number of Established A-G Course Lists

16

CLRN-Certified Online Courses

2013-14 update cycle:– 23,021 = Grand total of all course submissions– 3,037 = Total # of self-reported* CLRN-certified courses submitted– 2,774 = Total number of verified CLRN-certified courses approved

Overall, approvals for CLRN-certified online courses are high– Percentage approval for online publishers an anomaly due to

confusion over CLRN certification status

Institution Type StatusHistory/Social Science ("a")

English ("b")

Mathematics ("c")

Laboratory Science ("d")

Language Other than

English ("e")

Visual & Performing

Arts ("f")

College-Preparatory Elective ("g")

Total#

% Approved

Submitted 45 60 50 42 78 0 17 292 51%

Approved 22 22 31 9 52 0 14 150

Submitted 116 101 189 7 338 4 70 825 96%

Approved 109 96 182 0 338 0 69 794

Submitted 368 344 584 85 347 1 191 1920 95%

Approved 367 343 582 6 346 0 182 1826

Non-online schools, programs, districts

Online publishers

Online schools

Note: Data are preliminary, as all reviews have not yet been completed.

*UC verifies CLRN-certification status based on published reports on the CLRN website

Challenges & Successes

18

UC Policy Implementation

Challenges Definitions of online entities not always clear-cut CLRN certification vs. self-assessment

Successes Clear standards for quality online delivery Consistency of reviews against “a-g” course criteria for

online and non-online courses Improved efficiencies in seeking “a-g” approval for online

courses Expanded access to online “a-g” courses

19

UC-CLRN Partnership

Challenges CLRN and UC course review timelines Clarification of eligibility for CLRN review and certification

Successes Enhanced quality of online courses

– Percentage of CLRN-certified courses has risen from 25% in December 2012 to 56% in November 2013

Strengthened investments from all parties involved High “a-g” approval rates for CLRN-certified courses

20

Growth of Online Learning

Challenges Keeping pace with online course submissions Streamlining “a-g” course submission and review process

Successes Building a repository of online course frameworks to

promote quality online curriculum Encouraging educators to incorporate promising practices

for excellence in online teaching and learning Changing the understanding and expectations of college-

preparatory coursework

21

http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/

22

Resources

California Learning Resource Network (CLRN)– http://clrn.org

International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)– http://inacol.org

University of California “a-g” subject requirements:– A-G Course Lists – https://doorways.ucop.edu/list

– A-G Online Update – https://doorways.ucop.edu/update

– A-G Guide – http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/

UC High School Articulation, Undergraduate Admissions– E-mail: hsupdate@ucop.edu

– Phone: (510) 987-9570

23

Thank You!

To provide feedback on this session, please go to:

http://bit.ly/1bFSUsf