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August 30, 1999
In an effort to reach out to California high school students who can't take advanced placement courses at their own school, UCSC is leading a systemwide effort to make AP courses available online to students around the state.
Dozens of public high schools in the state offer no advanced placement (AP) courses at all, and many offer four or fewer AP courses, according to Elaine Wheeler, project director of UC's College Prep Initiative (UCCP). The goal of the program is to make AP course materials available to students who would otherwise have no access to them.
"Small rural schools are usually financially disadvantaged and remote, and many of them don't have a sufficient number of students to generate a full course in any of the AP subjects. They may have only one or two students who would be eligible to take a specific course," said Wheeler.
Rural schools also have trouble recruiting teachers who are qualified to teach advanced courses, and some urban schools don't offer AP classes, or don't offer a wide range of AP courses, she added.
The UCSC-based distance learning project began last fall with a pilot effort that reached 64 students in 14 schools. This fall, the program will expand to about 200 students in seven counties: San Diego, Imperial, Merced, Fresno, Santa Cruz, Mariposa, and Santa Clara.
"We give first priority to schools that have formed a partnership with any of the UC campuses, because they have already been identified as having significant needs," said Wheeler. Another criteria is financial need, which is established by examining the percentage of students in a school who are on welfare, participate in the free lunch program, and have limited English proficiency, she said.
The pilot program began with AP courses in chemistry, composition, and macroeconomics. This fall, the offerings will be expanded to include physics, biology, mathematics, microeconomics, statistics, and any course offered by UC Berkeley Extension that meets college-prep requirements, such as psychology.
"We're working with the high schools to see what their needs are and to match them up with the resources they need," said Wheeler. "When there isn't a good fit, we're often able to adapt the resources to make them work. We can't use a template to help the schools, because each one has unique needs. This is a very dynamic process, and the project is continuing to evolve."
Francisco Hernandez, vice chancellor for student affairs, first came up with the idea of using the Internet to help fill the gap in course offerings at schools around the state.
"This is an efficient and cost-effective way to deliver AP and college prep classes," said Hernandez, who continues to lead the project. "Other campuses are eager to sponsor similar programs, but UCSC has emerged as the systemwide leader, thanks to the hard work of the dedicated UCCP team."
UC President Richard Atkinson provides $400,000 a year in ongoing support, and the state legislature just approved an additional $3 million for the one-time development of additional courses and $1 million in ongoing funds for implementation and dissemination on a broader scale, said Hernandez.
The project has the potential to reach thousands of students around the state who would otherwise lack the opportunity to take AP classes. Those courses can boost a student's grade-point average and enhance his or her application when applying to the University of California. There's no reason why the technology couldn't eventually also help students meet the university's "a-f" admission requirements--and the upcoming new "g" requirement for visual or performing arts, said Wheeler.
Schools can sign on for one of two packages: course materials and a teacher who is available online, or just course materials to be used by an existing teacher.
For example, in Fresno this fall, AP chemistry teacher Jeanette Coburn at Clovis High School will supervise about 25 students from seven different schools throughout the county that do not offer AP chemistry. The students will meet for a three-day orientation in September, after which instruction will be offered online. The group will reconvene for one day of hands-on laboratory work each month.
"Nothing beats a good teacher who is interested and teaches a quality class," said Wheeler. "But this program is for students in schools where there are no AP courses in place."
The program is part of UC's growing outreach efforts. Statewide, only about 1,000 students from California's rural high schools graduate eligible to attend a UC campus, said Wheeler.
The course materials have been developed by Archipelago, APEX, UC Berkeley Extension, and Academic Systems, said Wheeler, but those companies typically market their products to independent college-age students. Although schools could go directly to those vendors, UCCP has done the legwork of analyzing the materials and identifying those that meet UC standards.
"We learned a lot during the pilot phase last year, and we've worked out a lot of the bugs," said Wheeler. "So far, one of the things that seems to make the biggest difference is whether the student has adequate local supervision, whether from a teacher or even a parent. Effective coaching and mentoring may prove to be key."
The ultimate test will be whether students who enroll in AP courses through distance learning can compete with their peers who take classes in the traditional manner. Wheeler's team includes researchers who will assess the performance of students after they take online courses.