The University Orientation Course or COU was an academic level taught in Spain

Education in Spain

The current system of education in Spain is known as LOE after the Ley Orgánica de Educación, or Fundamental Law of Education. Education in Spain is compulsory, and free from 6 to 16 years of age, supported by the Government in each Region....

, its curriculum set by the Education Act 1970. It consisted of one single annual course, equivalent to the second year of the current bachillerato system. The previous completion of the three-year Bachillerato Unificado Polivalente (BUP) was an admission requirement. In order to be allowed to progress to the then-compulsory Spanish University Access Tests or Selectividad

Selectividad

Selectividad is the popular name given to the Spanish University Access Tests , a non-compulsory exam taken by students after secondary school, necessary to go into University...

, an academic grade

Academic grading in Spain

-Elementary, high schools, and vocational schools:Spain uses a 10-point grading scale for elementary and high schools:*9.0-10 is the best possible grade and is called "sobresaliente" . A 10 grade may also include a distinction called "Matrícula de Honor" or "Mención de Honor," but usually only a...

 of 5/10 in each subject was needed.

It was equivalent to 12th Grade in the United States, the last year of Sixth form

Sixth form

In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...

 in the United Kingdom and the final International Baccalaureate level.