A Mixed Bag: How a variety of
courses can be used to meet
the A-G requirements
UC Counselor Conference
September 2015
Focus of Presentation
Students often present a complex array of courses from a variety of
entities - other states, another California high school, other countries,
online courses, home-schooling experiences, and colleges courses - that
can make it difficult to determine if they have met the UC freshman
admission subject requirements.
• The panel will provide various examples and scenario combinations
to illustrate the best ways to assist students in meeting the
requirements.
We will help you answer the question:
Have the requirements been met?
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Different Schools
How can students meet subject requirements when they transfer to a
different school?
•
Transferring schools in the same school district, from a different
school district in California, and/or another U.S. State:
o UC accepts pass along credit from one U.S. high school to another as long as
the coursework appears on the final transcript.
•
•
Transferring from an unaccredited school
•
UC does not recognize courses completed at an unaccredited school –
students with solely unaccredited education must meet UC requirements by
Examination Scores alone
Transferring from schools in another country to a U.S. high school:
o Students need to submit their international high school transcript and their U.S.
high school transcript. We do not accept pass along credit in cases of
international schooling.
UC’s Quick Reference for Counselors guide is available for counselors to assist
students in meeting admission requirements.
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Home-School Courses
• All home-schools

Family-created school - admission by exam only

Oversight by public high school district – school district issues official transcript
and awards diploma

All online courses –the online school has a UC-approved course list and issues
official transcript and awards diploma
• Mixed Academic Records

Some home-schooling, some California high school enrollment and/or college
courses

Combination of home-schooling, some out-of-state and some CA high school
enrollment
• Question

Do previously home-schooled students need to retake UC approved courses
if they begin attending a traditional high school?
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Online Schools versus
Online Course Publishers
• Online schools are credit-granting institutions that offer the
majority of their courses through internet-based methods
•
•
School must have a UC-approved course list
Issue an official transcript and awards a diploma
• Home high school should not transcript the course
•
Student must indicate enrollment with the school on the admission
application
• Online Course Publishers develop curriculum and sell/license their
online courses for delivery by a high school or school district
•
•
Does not issue credit toward a diploma; instead credit is issued by the
student's home high school.
When a high school contracts with an online course publisher it must:
•
•
Add the providers’ course on the school’s course list
Transcript the course
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Online Courses
• Only UC-approved online courses can be used
 Principal certification of non-UC approved online courses is no
longer acceptable
• Online courses that were completed and certified prior to the 20132014 are exempt
• Online college courses can be used to meet all subject
requirements
• Online High School versus College Courses
 Lab Science
• Online high school-level lab science course may be UC-approved
if the course includes a supervised, on-site, wet lab component
• Online college-level lab science ARE acceptable
 VPA
• Online high school-level visual and performing arts (“f”) courses
are NOT acceptable
• Online college-level VPA courses ARE acceptable
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
College Courses
• College/University courses can be used to meet subject
requirements
 Individual courses completed during summer or academic year
 Dual Enrollment = high school & college simultaneous enrollment at
two different school in an official program
 Middle College High School = completion of high school and
college course on a college campus
• UC-transferable College Courses
 CCC transferability can be searched using the TCA on ASSIST.org
 Non-CCC courses can also be used to meet A-G
•
Statement of Transfer Credit Practices
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
College Courses
 Non-transferable college courses acceptable for areas
“b” & “c” only
•
Area “b” - English composition/literature
 A non UC-transferable course can be used to meet the first 3
years of the area “b” requirement
•
Area “c” - Math
 Non UC-transferable courses in elementary algebra,
geometry, or intermediate/advanced algebra can be used to
meet 1 year each of the requirement
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
International Courses
• Passport or Residency not the Issue
 System of Education/Curriculum is what matters
• Language of Instruction (LOI), Courses, Grading Scale
 Courses can meet subject requirements
• Mixed Records
 Combination of International, Non-California, and/or California
Records
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
International Courses
• Repeating Classes
 Students should be placed in appropriate grade level based on
previous knowledge
 Only courses with deficient grades can be repeated

Be aware of similar course titles -- do not have students repeat
the same course; rather have students move forward
• Successful completion of a similar courses abroad can meet
subject requirements
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Study Abroad for U.S. Students
• Excellent opportunity for students
• College-prep courses taken abroad can be used to meet subject
requirements

Example: Carole studies abroad in France, language of instruction is
French; the student takes the same courses as the French students
•
The courses will be evaluated in the same way;
whether the student is a U.S. citizen or not.
• UC strongly prefers an official academic record from the study
abroad school but will accept course/grades added to home high
school transcript as pass along credit.
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Area “b”: Composition/Literature
Requirement
• 4 years required
 No more than 1 year of an ESL/ELD
 Cannot be completed in the senior year
• ACT/SAT and AP/IB
• Minimum score requirements in Quick Reference on page 9
• College Courses
 A letter grade of “C” or better is required
 A non-transferable English Composition and Literature course can be
used to meet 1 of the first 3 years of the requirement
 A UC-transferable course can meet the 4th year or the full requirement
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Area “b”: Composition/Literature
Requirement
• International Courses

Use composition/literature courses in the language of instruction
(e.g. German Language Arts)
• Mixed Records – Intl and US
 Use the language of instruction
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Is the area “b” requirement met?
•
Shawn completed grades 9 and 10 at an international school with English as
the language of instruction (LOI). Then, he completed English courses in
grades 11 and 12 in the U.S.
YES
•
Mi-Hi completes grades 9 and 10 at an international school with non-English
as the LOI (e.g. Chinese, Korean). She then completes regular English in
grades 11 and 12 in the U.S.
YES
•
Mary completes 3 years of regular English in a U.S. high school and then
completes a non-transferable English course at a college during senior year.
NO
•
Jordan completes 3 years of high school with non-English as the LOI and 1
year of ESL in grade 12 in CA.
NO
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Area “e”: Language Other than Language of
Instruction (LOTE) Requirement
• 2nd level of a language (other than the language of
instruction) is required
• How to meet the requirement for a student who is coming from a
high school where the Language of Instruction was NOT English
• Additional methods of documenting proficiency in a language
other than English:
 Formal Schooling in a Language other than English = 8th grade
 Assessment by a college/university
 Certification by high school principal
• Validation of Language Courses
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Is the area “e” requirement met?
•
Giovanni studied in Italy and the language of instruction was Italian. He then
moved to the U.S. for 10th grade.
YES
•
Amara studied in India, with an English speaking curriculum, her 1st language
is not English. She comes to the U.S. and only completes the 3rd level of
Punjabi at a U.S. high school.
YES
•
Eduardo moves to the U.S., in grade 10, from an international high school
w/English as the LOI, and did not previously complete another language, then
he completes Spanish 1 & 2 in the U.S. in grades 11 and 12.
YES
•
Chun moves to the U.S. from China where the LOI was English. She speaks
Cantonese at home but did not complete another language in school outside
the U.S., but insists she is "proficient” in Chinese.
NO
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Area “c”: Math Requirement
• Three years are required
 Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II

or a sequence of integrated-style math
Math I + Math II + Math III
 International Math Courses – are commonly taught in an
integrated-style
• College Courses
 Non-transferrable college/university courses are acceptable
• Principal Certification
 Non-online courses at an institution/program without a UC course
list can be recognized through principal certification.
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Area “c”: Math Requirement
• Validation: Subject Omission vs. Grade Deficiency
Subject Omission
Completion of a higher-level course with a letter grade of “C’ or better
validates a subject course omission
Grade Deficiency
Grade deficiencies in lower level math courses can be validated by
higher-level courses such as Precal, Math lll, Calculus or Math IV
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Integrated Math
• In general, a simple way of basically equating single-subject
and integrated-style math is as follows:
• Algebra I = Math I
• Geometry = Math II
• Algebra II = Math III
The phrase “basically equating” is used because Common Core Math
Standards allow instructors flexibility in the topics covered (and the
percentage of each topic) in the integrated-style math courses.
UC cannot with certainty know if “sufficient geometry content” is 30, 40,
50 or 80% of a single integrated math course.
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Geometry Requirement
A full geometry course (or an integrated math course with
geometry content) must be completed; it cannot be omitted
• Omission Exceptions
• 1st sem omission can be validated by completion of the 2nd sem
geometry
• 1st sem omission of an integrated course (e.g., Math II) can be
validated by successful completion of 2nd sem of an integrated course
• Omission of a yearlong integrated course (e.g., Math II) can be validated by
completion of a higher-level integrated course (e.g., Math III)
• In all instances validation is met the student earns a letter grade of
C or better.
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Geometry Requirement
Challenge Exam
◊◊◊UC will accept a “challenge” examination administered by
the high school math faculty to demonstrate proficiency to
validate the omission of a Geometry course if
the high school awards both grades and units
for the successful completion of a Geometry challenge
exam.
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Is the area “c” requirement met?
• Lesley completed Algebra I and Algebra II with letter grades of C or better, has
never taken Geometry but is taking Calculus now.
NO
• Malcolm completed Algebra I in 8th grade; completed Algebra II at a college earning
a grade of B; completed Geometry in which he received an F; and earned a C in
Pre-Calculus.
YES
• Meredith has passed Algebra I and Algebra II, failed the first semester of Geometry
but passed the second semester of Geometry.
YES
• Robert attended an international high school for the 9th and 10th grades. His math
courses were integrated and were listed on his secondary school record only as
“Math”. Then he completed Pre-Calculus and Calculus at a California high school.
YES
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Area “f”: VPA Requirement
• One year-long course required
• However effective for 2015-16:
two one-semester courses from the same discipline
are acceptable
 Disciplines: Dance, Music, Theater and Visual Arts
• International Schools – often don’t offer VPA-type courses
• Mixed Records - International and California enrollment
 VPA course at the California high school may be
required
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Is the area “f” requirement met?
•
Zaid completed a year of online high school music appreciation course.
NO
•
Andrea completed one semester of Chamber Orchestra in 10th grade and one
semester of Concert Band in 11th grade.
YES
•
Hannah completed one semester of Drama and one semester of Intro to Design
in 10th grade.
NO
•
Brian completes one semester of Ceramics and one semester of Photography.
YES
•
Franco attended a school outside of the U.S. for 9th – 11th grades and did not
complete a VPA course. He now attends a CA high school for senior year but
isn’t enrolled in a VPA course.
NO
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Resources
• Quick Reference for Counselors:

admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/quick-reference-2015.pdf
•
The September 2015 version will be available in a few weeks; the current version is still on the web.
• Online Course Guidelines:

ucop.edu/agguide/online-learning/
• Home-Schooled Student Information:

admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/homeschool/index.html
• Using International Courses to meet subject requirements:

Refer to the Quick Reference for Counselors guide
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Resources
• Transferable Community College Courses:

A-G Course List website hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist

Transferable Course Agreement (TCA) at assist.org
• A-G Subject Requirements
Content Expectations and FAQs:
•
Click on each link on the left:

ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/index.html
COUNSELOR CONFERENCE 2015
Thank you!
Questions??
Admission requirements, policies and practices
Write to AskUC@ucop.edu