Berkeleyan

UC's course-approval process explained

. UC recognizes the right of public- and private-school personnel to select instructional materials for their students in their course curricula. Not every course must meet UC's college-preparatory requirements, and the university makes no attempt to restrict what any private or public school chooses to teach.

. In the context of admissions, however, UC under the California Constitution does have the authority and responsibility to establish academic standards for admission to the university and to determine whether specific coursework submitted by a high school will count as fulfilling UC's college-preparatory requirements.

. UC's course-approval process applies to all California high schools, including public, private, and charter schools, which propose new or substantially revised courses they wish to be counted as a-g courses.

. For a course to be approved as an a-g course, the school must submit a request with the course curriculum, textbook information, and other supplemental materials to the university for approval. To assist schools in creating approved course outlines, UC publishes a comprehensive guide at www.ucop.edu/doorways/guide. The website describes the a-g requirements, provides dozens of sample course descriptions for both standard and innovative courses, offers useful tools and resources, and answers frequently asked questions.

. The course-approval process is in- teractive. If a course is not initially approved, university officials are available to provide additional assistance, through a collaborative consultation process, to help the schools create course outlines that meet the university's requirements. More than 80 percent of courses submitted to UC are approved.

- UCOP fact sheet "UC Policies for High School Course Approval"