By Victoria Irwin

It's little wonder that counselors steered college-bound students at Monrovia High School away from Phil Jelinek's auto shop classes. The average student admitted to UC for fall 2010 completed 23 college-prep academic courses. For these students there's simply not time to take occupational courses and be competitive for UC and other selective colleges.

But the shop is a natural science lab, Jelinek thought, and a lot of students at the San Gabriel Valley school were missing out. Why couldn't they learn scientific concepts while they were also picking up transferable skills, like how to diagnose a malfunctioning engine?

"In a traditional physics class, students learn the law of thermodynamics in a linear fashion: the first law, then the second law and so on," he said. "But with an internal-combustion engine, you have heat, motion, entropy all at the same time."

So Jelinek joined forces with physics teacher Tom Dobson, and Auto Physics, an advanced class for students who had completed basic physics, was born.

As one of Jelinek's students told the California Senate Education Committee when he testified about the importance of career technical education (CTE), "Mr. J. taught me why I need my Advanced Placement math, my AP English. CTE courses show you the real-world application of what you're learning in school."

CTE is receiving renewed attention from educators and policymakers as a way to keep students engaged in school and prepare them for the work force at the same time. Unlike traditional vocational education, whose original purpose was to track students into work-only prospects after high school, CTE courses include more academic content and demonstrate more clearly how academic concepts are applied to technical or occupational settings.

In 2005, California became the first state to adopt CTE curriculum standards, and two years later curriculum frameworks were developed to provide guidance for implementing the standards. But aligning the academic and the technical while maintaining the rigor necessary for a college-prep course can be a challenge. UC faculty have been instrumental in providing guidance to schools on how CTE courses can also be used to fulfill UC's and CSU's course requirements.

UC's role in CTE

In order to be eligible for admission to UC, high school students must take a minimum of 15 academic courses, commonly called the "a-g" subjects. Rather than mandating a particular curriculum for these courses, UC faculty provide schools with a set of expectations they have established for college-preparatory courses. Teachers develop their own curriculum to meet these expectations, and then schools submit the courses to UC for approval.

The intent of the "a-g" course approval process is to ensure a course has met the requirements the faculty specified. Every comprehensive public high school in California has a UC-approved course list. It is these courses that students complete to be eligible for admission to UC.

Over the past decade, UC has dramatically increased the number of approved CTE courses. In 2001, only 258 CTE courses were UC-approved. Today, there are more than 9,095 CTE courses statewide that fulfill "a-g" requirements. By 2011-12, UC expects to have approved 10,000, or about 43 percent of all CTE courses currently offered. This will place CTE course approval on par with that of "a-g" courses.

There are approved CTE courses in all seven "a-g" subject areas: history and social science, English, mathematics, laboratory science, language other than English, visual and performing arts and college-prep electives. While certain CTE pathways align well with specific subject areas, such as lab sciences, the arts and electives, finding linkages with history/social studies, English and math is more challenging.

UC staff work with school administrators, teachers and counselors to provide assistance in developing courses. The university makes guidelines and sample courses available on its "a-g" Guide website and often offers personalized feedback on course submissions.

Noting that a large number of business finance courses were being submitted but not approved, UC staff has recently put its attention on that area. This week, the university is hosting its inaugural Curriculum Integration Institute, where academic and CTE teachers are gathering with subject-matter experts and UC staff and faculty. Teachers submitted abstracts for math courses that incorporate assignments that align with the CTE sectors of finance and business. They will spend three days to develop those abstracts into four courses that will meet faculty approval for beginning and advanced algebra. The courses will then be made available for any school in California to use.

Another institute in the fall will focus on history/social studies and English, and two more are planned for 2011. Not only will the teachers develop courses, but they will go on to serve in UC's Cadre of Experts, helping their peers design courses that will meet UC requirements. Cadre members field general questions about the UC course approval process, offer feedback on draft course submissions and, in some cases, make presentation to schools.

Certified courses meet with student approval

Kayla Collins wouldn't have given her high school's Economics of Business and Marketing class a second look if it weren't on Harbor High School's UC course list. In the course, Collins and four fellow students drew up a business plan for a drive-through coffee shop. Market research -- they surveyed students, faculty and community members -- supported their hunch that consumers would pay a premium for convenience. From there, they planned all the logistics, from online ordering and billing to how the shop itself would run.

Collins has always been interested in math and engineering and will enter UC San Diego this fall as a math major. But now the Santa Cruz teenager is thinking more about management and economics.

"The class really opened my eyes to that side of myself," she said. "I probably wouldn't have even taken it if it weren't college prep."

Victoria Irwin is the student affairs communications coordinator with the UC Office of the President Integrated Communications. For more news, visit UC Newsroom or follow us on Twitter.