Distance Learning | News

U California OKs Fuel Education Online Courses as Prerequisites for Entry

• By Michael Hart
• 09/22/14

The University of California (UC) has said 95 online and blended courses produced by Fuel Education satisfy requirements for prerequisites for entry as freshmen.

According to Fuel, a provider of personalized learning courses, that is the largest number of courses approved by any online course provider.

The university system's review board has said the courses satisfy its "a-g" requirements, meaning that potential applicants who take online or blended courses must pass 15 college-preparatory courses in seven areas (a to g), and they are certified for entry to the university.

The seven "a-g" academic areas are:

• History or social science;
• English;
• Math;
• Lab science;
• Foreign language (other than English);
• Visual or performing arts; and
• College-preparatory elective.

The UC online course review board, according to the university, "aims to ensure that students have access to a broad range of high-quality online courses that maintain the 'human touch' and integrity of assessment."

Also, before UC will accept any courses, they must be assessed against standards set by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) in terms of content, instructional design, student assessment, technology and course support.

Of the 95 Fuel courses approved, 18 are Advance Placement courses and all are approved through May 16.

Of the 95 courses approved:

• 11 are social studies courses;
• 15 English courses;
• 19 math courses;
• 11 science courses;
• 17 world languages; and
• 22 elective courses.