Comedy Literature gains UC English credit

UC system approves new English course after initial rejection

Comedy Literature, a new class created and taught by English teacher Lucy Filppu, has been approved for English credit by the UC system.

While it may sound simple, getting a class approved by the UC system is not an easy process. According to the University of California website, in order for a class to be eligible for UC credit, a teacher must send in a request with the course curriculum and other supplemental materials for the UC system.

“Getting UC approval is like writing a book,” Filppu said. “I wrote five in depth units [of curriculum]. My entire submission was 30 pages long. It was like writing a dissertation.”

In fact, Comedy Literature was not approved the first time Filppu submitted her course for UC evaluation. Filppu had to edit her curriculum before finally getting it approved after a second attempt.

“I was completely relieved,” Filppu said. “It was a long journey getting there, so I had a very busy, crazy summer.”

Students were already enrolled in the class before it was assured UC credit, which placed a level of anxiety on Filppu.

“I was worried because I thought students would drop if they found it wasn’t UC approved,” Filppu said. “I thought we would have a public relations fiasco on our hands. I was very worried about that, and it was very frustrating because I’d worked really hard.”

Without having to worry about the possibility of UC credit denial, Filppu now devotes her energy toward teaching her new class.

“[UC system approval is] like a dream come true,” Filppu said.  “I get to create something. I love the students because there’s tremendous buy-in. I also think [the course’s] content is wonderful and exciting; I think it’s so worthy of our time. We’ve never spent time teaching comedic content [at Paly] so it’s very exciting for me.”