Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)
What is RSI?
Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) means frequent, proactive, and academically meaningful engagement between instructors and students, beyond just answering questions in online courses. It is required in every course that is fully or partially online, and it must be demonstrable and documented.
Checklist for Online Instructors:
Currently, we are in the campus wide accreditation cycle. Accreditors from the ACCJC will randomly select online courses and evaluate RSI. To ensure they can easily "pass" our online courses, the DE Team created the RSI Self-Assessment tool for faculty to complete and insert to Canvas for EVERY ONLINE course taught.
- Prior to the start of the semester, use this Faculty Planning RSI Planning Checklist: Ensuring Substantive Interaction Across the Semester.
- Part of planning includes creating a Communication Plan and placing it in multiple places in your course, such as the syllabus, home page, and Orientation module. Here are a couple of templates:
- While you are teaching this course, you can reflect on your own RSI practices using this RSI Self-Assessment Form. You can always update the form while you are teaching..
- For accreditation, please place the form in each online class. Here is a video tutorial that will walk you through the process.
- For EVEN more support and examples, please self-enroll in our RSI Faculty Training Hub.
Regular
Frequent and Consistent Throughout the Course:
- Predictable
- Prompt
- Proactive
- Weekly
- Clearly communicated in your policies
Substantive
Academic in Nature and Relevant to the Course:
- Announcements
- Instructor-created content
- Facilitating student interaction in discussion forums or other collaborative activities
- Responding to questions
- Using the “Message Students Who” feature in the Canvas gradebook
- Use of rubrics and/or feedback
Interaction
Communication Initiated by the Instructor:
- Faculty-to-student
- Student-to-student
Why does RSI matter?
- Legal Compliance: It aligns with federal law (34 C.F.R. § 600.2; § 602.3), California Title 5 § 55204 and ACCJC accreditation standards. It determines whether a course is Distance Education as opposed to Correspondence Education.
- Financial Aid Eligibility: It is a key aspect that determines whether or not a student receives financial aid from the US Department of Education. If students take courses that are deemed to be Correspondence Education, the government can rescind financial aid, and then they will typically do a deeper dive into the district’s DE offerings to check for compliance.
- Student Success: RSI practices aim to create active learning communities in online courses that are essential for promoting learning and ensuring motivation, which leads to successful retention and completion. This is validated and supported by the ASCCC. Please note: Communication within the LMS (e.g., Canvas and the Canvas Inbox) is strongly encouraged as it ensures compliance with FERPA and is also easily trackable.
What are some “Best Practices” that effective online instructors do?
- Review the ACCJC Quality Continuum Rubric for Substantive Interaction.
- Create a communication plan and place it in your syllabus and home page, and refer to it in your Orientation.
- If possible, establish interaction early with students so they know what to expect and how to access your course. Here is a sample Welcome Package and set of sample announcements for the beginning of the semester.
- Think 2 + 2: Make sure you are doing two different types of interaction at least twice
per week. Specific examples are included in our Cerritos College RSI Guide. Some easy ways to illustrate RSI on a weekly basis:
- Weekly announcements
- Rubrics and/or feedback given on all assignments
- Rubric Guide for Educators. This delves into the why and how to make them student-centered, as well as includes a free downloadable booklet.
- Be transparent: Share your rubric with students before they start the work.
- Analytic rubrics with clear descriptors across criteria support formative feedback.
- Student involvement in rubric design boosts engagement and understanding.
- Visual formats reduce anxiety and encourage progress.
- Pairing rubrics with peer feedback and self‑reflection fosters deeper learning.
- Link to next steps: Include revision-focused comments tied to rubric criteria
- Here are some additional Sample Practices for Giving Feedback.
- Facilitating group discussion forums or the use of other collaborative tools, such as Hypothesis.
- Reflect on your practice, document it, and place it in your Canvas courses using our
RSI Self-Assessment Tool.
- Take a look at our Step-by-Step Visual Walkthrough.
- 📢 Announcement - Summary of topics covered; Connections to current events; Share answers to questions that all students would benefit from hearing; Share tips for success
- 📬Message Students Who (Gradebook - pushes messages directly to students ' Inboxes) - Targeted grouped messages based on individual progress, assignments not submitted, or range of proficiency on assignments (kudos or offers of support)
- 📨 Direct Inbox messages - Individualized messages using the student's preferred name, addressing the student's course progress
- ✔️ Speed Grader Feedback - Individualized feedback on student work coupled with rubric feedback
- 💬 Discussions - Public postings in class discussions summarizing, redirecting, extending discussions, or answering questions
- 🗣️ Drop-in student/office hours - Optional drop-in hours for students to discuss course material
Who can help me ensure I am following RSI Best Practices?
Our DE Team offers weekly office hours advertised through our Online Teaching Resources Canvas course. They would be happy to support you in meeting RSI guidelines and any other DE concerns.
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