33 Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)

The U.S. Department of Education requires that all online courses, which fall under the definition of distance education and for which students may use Title IV funds (federal financial aid) “ensure that there is regular and substantive interaction between students and faculty.” While RSI requirements apply to all courses/programs offered for academic credit, whether an individual student might or might not be able to receive federal financial aid, this resource guide focuses on those offered online.

This policy applies to faculty developing, offering, and engaging in online programs, courses, and activities. The Department of Education has the authority to audit online courses and programs at institutions that receive federal funds. All online courses are expected to meet this requirement and include regular and substantive interaction.

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is more than a federal requirement. It is also a hallmark of effective teaching. Decades of research have established that teacher-student interactions are an essential component of learning (Baker, 2010; Betts, 2023; Kerensky & Poulin, 2022). So, while it may be tempting to see the Department of Education’s mandate as a burden imposed from outside the university, the reality is that ensuring regular and substantive interaction is entirely consistent with most University’s mission and values as educational institutions.

WHAT IS RSI?

Initiated by Instructor

Instructors should have an active presence in the course by initiating and guiding a range of interactions with students in a timely manner. To count as ‘regular and substantive,’ interactions need to be started by the instructor. You should expect to take an active part in initiating and guiding a range of interactions with your students throughout the semester. This ensures that interactions are not optional and left up to each student’s individual discretion; rather, they are an integral part of your instructional plan for the course.

Frequent and Consistent

Interactions with students should be reasonably often and consistently recurrent throughout term where students are likely to grow to expect it. This means that once a course begins, long intervals of time shouldn’t pass between the interactions you initiate with students. The mode of interaction may vary throughout the course, depending on your aims and the needs of your students, but the regular cadence of interactions you establish should remain as consistent as possible.

Focused on the Course Subject

Interactions should be connected to course subject and contribute to students’ progress toward course and program learning objectives. Routine procedural interactions, such as reminders of upcoming deadlines, aren’t ‘substantive’ on their own; neither are activities like assigning grades, unless they are accompanied by personalized feedback or suggestions for improvement. This doesn’t mean that interactions designed to welcome students or build classroom community aren’t important, merely that they aren’t sufficient by themselves.

Course Design and Course Delivery Strategies that DO Meet RSI Standards

  • You post discussion board questions and actively facilitate conversation by responding to students.
  • You post weekly announcements that answer common questions, summarize progress, & discuss course content.
  • You post timely recorded videos explaining concepts and posing questions for upcoming units that require student responses.
  • You define response time for feedback and emails in your syllabus or communication policy.
  • You set weekly virtual office hours for students to meet with you and ask questions.
  • You provide personalized comments (in any medium) for an individual student’s assignment.
  • You send a message previewing concepts introduced in the next unit and listing questions for students to have in mind when reading the textbook chapters.
  • You post an example from your recent research trip in the course’s ‘Real-World Global Health’ discussion to illustrate the concept of coefficient of restitution.

Course Design and Course Delivery Strategies that DON’T Meet RSI Standards

  • You post a discussion board question and give students points for participation.
  • You sporadically post announcements as due date reminders.
  • You post a pre-recorded video from a previous semester about main concepts of unit.
  • You provide a statement in your syllabus that feedback and help will be provided but do not include specific details on timing or expectations.
  • A student happens to drop in during your regularly scheduled office hours.
  • You add numeric grades to the course gradebook.
  • A student submits a quiz that is automatically graded.
  • You send a welcome message during the first week of class and a mid-quarter message around week five.
  • You encourage students to participate in an optional, one-time online review session before the final exam.
  • You remind students of the course attendance policy.
  • You post an announcement about an upcoming deadline.
  • You post to the course’s ‘General Topics’ discussion thread lamenting the outcome of last night’s Chiefs game.

Additional Resources to Learn More About RSI

Research Behind Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)

As previously emphasized, the significance of consistent and meaningful interaction between educators and learners is firmly grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Below is a brief selection representing the extensive body of relevant research:

References

License

Teaching Online: Course Design, Delivery, and Teaching Presence Copyright © 2020 by Analisa McMillan. All Rights Reserved.

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