Online course publishers can now register to be included in UC's publicly available directory that serves as a statewide resource to California high schools seeking online courses to fulfill A-G subject requirements for University admissions.

Online course publishers are eligible to register for the directory if they meet at least #1 through #4 of the following criteria:

1. Author their own curriculum;
2. Rely on the student’s home high school to report the completed online course (grades and credits earned) on the student’s official high school transcript;
3. Submit documentation (e.g., letter of intent, purchase agreement) that public high schools in at least two California school districts (or at least two private high schools) have committed to using the online publisher’s courses for their students’ college preparation (i.e., to fulfill A-G subject requirements); and
4. Agree to maintain at least two years of data on California high school course enrollments for UC audit purposes.
5. Only for publishers offering instructors with their online courses: Online course publishers that also employ instructors must earn accreditation as a supplementary education center/program from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

If an online course publisher independently seeks and earns Quality Matters (QM) certification for their courses:

• The registered online course publisher will be spotlighted in UC’s public directory.
• The online course publisher’s QM-certified courses will be exempt from UC’s annual online A-G course verification process.

UC will conduct a random review of self-reported online publisher courses during the annual A-G course submission period.

• Online course publishers that authored the randomly identified courses will submit course descriptions via the A-G Course Management Portal (CMP) to be reviewed using existing A-G course review procedures and A-G course criteria.
• Courses that do not align with the A-G course criteria will be removed from high schools’ A-G course lists for the upcoming academic year, and online course publishers and high schools will be notified. Reasons for removal will be shared for recalibration of principal certification processes, and opportunities for A-G training will be offered, as needed.
• Online course publishers whose college-prep courses are found more than once to not align with A-G course criteria will be removed from UC’s directory of registered online course publishers. Such publishers will need to have the specific course(s) in question certified by Quality Matters before they may register again to re-join UC’s directory.

The timeframe is as follows:

• May 1 - May 15: Eligible online publisher courses are selected for verification and publishers are notified. 
• May 15 - June 30: Online publishers may submit course descriptions through the A-G Course Management Portal (CMP) for selected courses.
  • One opportunity for resubmission is provided.
  • Resubmissions must be in by June 30.
• Courses selected for verification in the current period, and subsequently approved, are exempt from being selected in the future.
• Courses self-reported by schools after the course verification period begins on May 15 will be considered for selection the following year.