Regular & Substantive Interaction

Instructor presence and student/instructor interactions are key online course elements that foster student motivation, persistence, and success. In line with these findings, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) requires all online courses for which students use Title IV funds include regular and substantive interaction (RSI) between students and instructors.  Courses not meeting this requirement are considered correspondence courses and are not eligible for federal Title IV financial aid.

How can an instructor provide regular and substantive interaction in their online course?

 

Substantive

The DOE defines substantive interaction as “engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion and includes at least two of the following categories, although best practices in course design support the use of more than just two.”

 

  1. Provide director instruction on course content.
  2. Assess and/or provide feedback on a student’s coursework.
  3. Provide information or respond to student questions about the course content or a competency
  4. Facilitate a group discussion regarding course content or competency.

Regular

According to the DOE, regular instructor/student interactions should be:

 

  • Conducted throughout the course on a predictable, scheduled basis
  • Proportionate to the course length and amount of content/competency involved
  • initiated by a qualified instructor, who monitors student academic engagement and success; and
  • Initiated by the instructor who, based on concerns resulting from monitoring students’ engagement and/or at the request of the student. 

Strategies for Meeting Regular and Sustantive Requirements

Good Practice:

Items in this column reflect practices that may be effective but alone would not meet the substantive interaction guidelines.  Be sure to supplement these practices with items from the rgth column

Ways to Meet the Requirement:

Items in this column are deemed to meet substantive interaction guidelines. Using these elements from at the 2 of the categories would qualify the instruction of the course as meeting RSI.

1. PROVIDING DIRECT INSTRUCTION OF COURSE CONTENT

This includes live, synchronous instruction where both the instructor and students are online and in communication at the same time (USDE Letter to WET, 2022)

  • Pre-recorded video lecture of slide content
  • readings
  • any other web content, videos, podcasts, simulations, etc.

  • Synchronous lectures with a potential of two-way communication

  • instructor led synchronous discussion around the course content

  • regular schedule synchronous office hours or 1:1 meetings

2. ASSESSING  AND/OR PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON A STUDENT’S COURSEWORK

Communicate to students the expected schedule for grading assignment & posting grades, and the frequency & type of feedback students can expect on the assignment and other activities.

  • Auto-graded quizzes with feedback for both correct & incorrect answers
  • Graded assignments with generalized, whole-class feedback
  • Graded assignments only, without feedback

  • If using Canvas auto-graded quizzes, add an application question with individualized feedback

  • Include graded assignments with individualized feedback in alignment with syllabus feedback timelines.

  • Using Canvas learning analytics, provide whole-class feedback on common questions, strengths, and ‘stickiest point’ at regular intervals

3. PROVIDING INFORMATION OR RESPONDING TO STUDENT QUESTIONS ABOUT COURSE CONTENT OR A COMPETENCY

Include details in the course syllabus & Canvas course about instructor availability, including office hours & contact information, response time to student inquiries, & protocols for using email & other communication tools.

  • Weekly reminder of due dates (via Canvas announcements, email, etc.)
  • Responding in a timely manner to students’ emails or questions in Canvas Q&A discussion forum.
  • Hosting regularly scheduled office hours

  • Make weekly, scheduled announcements answering common questions or summarizing class progress

  • Use email to regularly check on the academic aspects of the course & to provide additional information relevant to the class content

  • Hold weekly office hours for content/topic reviews & record & post Q&As for class to access

4. FACILITATING A GROUP DISCUSSION REGARDING COURSE CONTENT OR A COMPETENCY

Expectations about instructor & students engagement in forums is included in the syllabus and Canvas course.

  • Instuctor provides an open-ended forum that is not moderated.
  • Student-facilitated group discussion
  • Instructor responds to questions posted in discussions

  • Instructor-facilitated* discussion forums are included throughout the course if applicable to the course context and outcomes.

  • Instructor regularly posts to course discussion forums in a variety of mediated formats to post guiding questions related to the course subject.

  • Instructor actively moderates peer-to-peer discussions

*active facilitation – to prompt critical thinking, expand conversations, clarify, highlight strengths, indicate off-task/wrong input, redirect to resources, suggest improvements, motivate & encourage.

Need assistance with RSI?

Contact the Coulter Faculty Commons by scheduling a consultation with any of our educational developers.

 

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