The University of California (UC) Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools has implemented a new stricter approval policy for online courses. From now on, all online courses must be submitted to the UC Board for review in order to be considered for UC admission requirements ‘a-g’ approval. If approved, the online course publisher or school district must submit the course again for review and approval after three years, according to the new policy.

“The main impact this has on our students is related to when students are looking at taking online courses outside of our school district,” Counselor Ryan Carter said. “The UC is closely examining online courses to see if they meet their same approval standards as approved in-seat courses.”

Students who wish to fulfill one or more of their UC ‘a-g’ requirements by taking online courses, such as trigonometry, must check with their counselor before registering.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for these [outside] online providers to gain approval,” Carter said. “Some of the providers and courses that have been approved in the past are no longer approved for the upcoming school year. For these reasons, it is imperative that our students make sure [with their counselor] that the courses they’re considering are approved. This will ensure that they will receive high school ‘college prep’ credit and that UC/ CSU and other universities will recognize these courses when students apply to college.”

Students who have previously completed an outside online course that was a-g approved during the year in which they completed it will still receive ‘a-g’ credit for the course, even if the course has lost its approval in subsequent years. However, all students taking or considering taking online courses should talk to their counselor.

In addition to confirming UC approval, students must always check in with their counselors to have the school approve the online course for high school credit.

“It is critical that students see their counselor prior to registering for any outside coursework,” Carter said. “Your counselor can help you determine if the course is UC approved. Additionally, students need to get each outside course pre-approved by our administration. Students can pick up the MVLA outside coursework pre-approval form from their counselor. This will ensure that students receive appropriate credit for the course on their LAHS transcript.”