Regular and Substantive Interaction
The U.S. Department of Education regulations for distance (online) education require regular and substantive interaction between students and their instructors. The phrase “regular and substantive interaction” comes from the federal definition of distance education. The requirement for regular and substantive interaction applies to both synchronous and asynchronous instructional modalities.
Regular and Substantive Interaction has three elements. It must be:
- initiated by the instructor;
- frequent and consistent;
- focused on the course subject.
Definitions of Key Terms:
Substantive Interaction is defined as engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion, and also includes at least two of the following:
1. Providing direct instruction. Examples include:
- Actively facilitating an online discussion.
- Participation in regularly scheduled learning sessions where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the student and the qualified instructor.(Note: merely logging into class is insufficient without further participation.)
- Providing an overview video to accompany pre-recorded lectures that are not generated by the Carroll faculty member.
2. Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework. Examples include:
- Providing personalized comments (in any medium) for an individual student’s assignment or exam
- Providing post-assessment debriefings based upon class performance.
3. Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;
4. Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency;
5.Other instructional activities approved by NWCCU and/or any relevant specialized accrediting agency/ies.
Regular Interaction requires the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and recurring basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency. The instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student, as well as monitoring students’ academic engagement and success.
Monitoring Academic Engagement can include:
1. Evaluating a student’s level of participation in synchronous class sessions;
2. Monitoring the student’s activity on course websites or materials;
3. Considering the quality of the student’s assignments or responses to questions about course materials;
4. Evaluating the level of the student’s understanding of course materials during conversations with instructors or performance on exams; and
5. Other forms of monitoring the student’s engagement and success in the course or competency.
Direct Instruction occurs in a synchronous environment where both the instructor and student are present at the same time and are both engaged.
Distance Education is a means of delivering educational programming to students physically separated from the instructor using technology. Distance delivery courses may be synchronous or asynchronous and must meet the same academic standards as all other Carroll College courses.
All faculty are responsible for complying with this policy and its associated federal regulations. Faculty teaching distance education (online) courses are responsible for ensuring their courses are designed to facilitate regular and substantive interaction between instructors and students. Each department or academic program is responsible for ensuring instructors who teach online courses in their department comply with this policy.