Regular Substantive Interaction: Empire State College

A resource from Empire State College regarding "regular substantive interaction".

The U.S. Department of Education issued Final Rules on Distance Education and Innovation in September 2020, with the rules going into effect on July 1, 2021. The new regulations update the definitions of distance and correspondence education with the intent to provide more clarity on the differences between these two modes of course delivery. The U.S. Department of Education requires that all online courses for which students may use Title IV funds (federal financial aid) include regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors. In short, regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is one of the key elements distinguishing distance education from correspondence education and thus one of the central determinates for students’ ability to use Title IV funds.

Four other critical factors distinguishing distance education from correspondence education are as follows:

• “Distance education should be delivered through an “appropriate” form of online media.
• Distance education must use instructor or instructors that meet accreditor requirements for instruction in the subject matter.
• There should be at least two forms of substantive interaction.
• There must be “scheduled and predictable” opportunities for instructor/student interaction.
• Instructors must be responsive to students’ requests for support” (U.S. Department of Education Issues Final Rules on Distance Education and Innovation | NC-SARA, 2020))

(SUNY Empire State College (n.d.). Background: Definitions of distance education and correspondence courses. Faculty Resources for Online Learning. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.esc.edu/dlis/design-your-course/regular-and-substantive-interaction/#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20regular%20and%20substantive,to%20use%20Title%20IV%20funds.\)