Frequently Asked Questions

No, this is an Early College program, not an Early Graduation program. Our students are in small grade level cohorts throughout all four years of high school. However, most of our students will save time by finishing University earlier. 

UCA students take the majority of their classes through Chaffey’s High School Partnership (HSP) program. All courses offered through this program are tuition free and books will also be free. If a student chooses to take a course outside of the HSP program, they may have to pay for fees and textbooks.

The UC and CSU admissions offices weigh California Community College courses that meet A-G requirements on a 5.0 scale similar to an Honors or AP course.  Any transferable course with at least 3 semester units will also count for 10 high school credits. 

All UCA students will start off by taking Guidance 3 and fulfilling their A-G requirements. During 9th grade, students will work with our UCA team as well as their Chaffey Dual Enrollment Counselor to create an Education Plan specific to their goals and interests. This will guide what classes they take next.

The Cal-GETC (California General Education Transfer Curriculum) is a series of courses that California Community College students may complete to satisfy lower-division general education requirements before transferring to the California State University (CSU) or to the University of California (UC). The majority of our UCA students are unsure about their plans in 9th and 10th grade, so we suggest taking courses that fulfill the Cal-GETC requirements until you know for sure what type of school and major you plan to attend.

Most will, but there are a few private universities that are choosy about which courses they will accept for credit. The best way to plan for this is to work with your Dual Enrollment Counselor to make sure you are taking courses that your preferred schools will accept. 

Yes, one of the strengths of our program is that our UCA students have the opportunity to participate in many  of the wonderful activities Upland High School has to offer. We have students that are in U’College and are also members of sports, band, ASB, Dance team, etc. We caution students to be intentional when selecting college classes during busy seasons for their other activities. One of our top priorities is promoting mental health in our students. Maintaining only one other major team or commitment in addition to U’College will help avoid students becoming overwhelmed. 

 In 2022, Dr. Loren Sanchez U’College Academy (UCA) was created as an innovative dual enrollment program on the Upland High School campus. U’College Academy is a “school within a school'' similar to a Middle College High School or Early College, but with all the benefits of a comprehensive high school campus. U’College has dedicated classrooms, counselors, a coordinator, built-in support, and students are selected in cohorts of 75 students per grade level. All U’College students take courses through both UHS and Chaffey College to fulfill their A-G and Cal-GETC requirements before taking any classes towards their future major. Students stay in this program throughout their 4 years of high school.

UHS Dual Enrollment: Any Upland High student can apply to take Chaffey College Dual Enrollment courses with no specific requirements or amount of courses they must take per semester. Dual Enrollment students are free to select courses according to their 4-year plan which is determined with the approval of their UHS Counselor and the assistance of Dual Enrollment Counselors at Chaffey College.      Find out more about the UHS Dual Enrollment program here.

Pathways Prep Academy: Pathways Prep is a Charter High School separate from Upland High School. Students are able to take Dual Enrollment classes aligned to their selected Pathway. 

Find out more about Pathways Prep Academy here.