Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)

Recommendations for Faculty

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is a federal requirement for distance education, ensuring online courses include frequent, instructor-initiated, and academically focused engagement to distinguish them from correspondence courses. RSI combines scheduled interaction ("regular") with academic engagement ("substantive"), such as instructor-led discussions, feedback on work, and direct instruction, ensuring quality and eligibility for federal financial aid.

There are three types of interactions, all of which should be present in a course in order to meet RSI standards:

• student <-> content
• student <-> instructor
• student <-> learner

Below you will find helpful recommendations, references to the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric, examples and resources for how faculty could adjust their courses to meet RSI expectations. 

Student <-> Content Interaction

Definition: Student <-> content interaction involves learners engaging directly with the course topics, materials, activities and assessments in the course.

The following are examples of student <-> content interaction:

• reading from a textbook, article, or online resource
• viewing a lecture video
• assigned completion of workbook or online exercises (which may be auto-graded or include auto-feedback)

Variety of Content

Courses that rely heavily on the textbook and publisher lab materials may work well for some students, but not all. Varying material sources and types can add to student learning and engagement, as well as provide content from multiple perspectives and modes of learning. Providing students the chance to absorb content through different means (reading, watching, listening, etc.) provides options and can help hold attention.

Use this guide to evaluate the variety of student <-> content interaction options in your course.

Recommendation: Instructors can improve their RSI score by providing a variety of student <-> content interactions based on the parameters outlined above. Review the resources below to add these types of interactions and interaction structure to your course.

Finding/Creating Varied Materials:

1. Utilize Open Educational Resources (OER) like those found in OER hubs such as MERLOT. OERs are freely available teaching and learning materials that can be used, adapted, and shared. These tools help faculty find, remix, and create high-quality, openly licensed course content. See Clarkson's Guide to Open Educational Resources.
2. Locate external resources such as library articles, YouTube videos or podcasts on the course topics (some students LOVE learning via podcast!).
3. Create interactive lessons using tools available right in Moodle such as H5P, which includes over 40 types of learning materials you (or your students) can create and interact with. A variety of materials helps keep students engaged in courses.

Student <-> Instructor Interaction

Definition: Student <-> instructor interaction involves learners and instructors communicating regarding course topics, material or assessments in the course.

The following are examples of student <-> instructor interaction:

• submitting an assignment or project for individual instructor feedback
• posting to a discussion forum which includes both student and instructor participation
• participating in a synchronous session which involves opportunity for Q&A

Use this guide to evaluate the variety of student <-> instructor interaction options in your course.

Recommendation: Instructors can improve their RSI score by providing regular and substantive student <-> instructor interaction based on the parameters outlined above. Review the resources below to add these types of interactions and interaction structure to your course.

Personalized Feedback:

Providing opportunities for regular and substantive feedback on assessments that students submit is essential to aid in their growth as a learner. It is also one of the key differentiating factors between defining a course as Distance Education or Correspondence Course, per Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter VI, Section 600.2

This should happen multiple times spaced out over the course of the semester and include helpful feedback that encourages change. This feedback can happen in a number of different mediums: assignments, exams that includes a question(s) that isn't auto-graded, discussion forums, synchronous sessions, etc.

According to Quality Matters, the 5 Characteristics of a Helpful Recommendation include:

• Constructive - Is it phrased in a manner that will encourage them to make improvements?
• Specific - What specifically is done well or might be improved?
• Measurable - How will improvement be apparent or observed?
• Sensitive - Is it phrased respectfully?
• Balanced - Have you included both what is done well and what might be improved?

See also:

Clarkson's Guide to Grading & Giving Feedback

Discussion Board Participation and Communication:

View Clarkson's Guide to Course Communication for information on the various ways and time frames to communicate with students in Moodle.

Student <-> Student Interaction

Definition: Student <-> student interaction involves learners communicating with their peers regarding course topics, materials or assessments in the course.

The following are examples of student <-> student interaction:

• working together to complete and submit a group assignment or project
• posting to a discussion forum which requires substantive peer replies/feedback
• completing a peer review activity to evaluate another student's work
• participating in a synchronous session which requires students to discuss topics with each other

Use this guide to evaluate the variety of student <-> student interaction options in your course.

#	Criterion		Standard / What to Look For		3 — Meets Standard	2 — Approaches Standard	1 — Does Not Meet Standard
2.1	Collaborative Learning Activities   QM Specific Review Standards 5.2, 5.4		Course includes structured activities (group projects, peer review, collaborative problem-solving) requiring meaningful engagement between students.		At least two well-designed collaborative activities with clear roles, expectations, and connection to outcomes.	Only one peer activity present limited in scope and unclear expectations.	No peer collaboration activities; all work is individual only.
2.2	Discussion Forum Design & Requirements QM Specific Review Standards 1.3, 3.3, 3.5		Discussion prompts require substantive peer responses that extend thinking, not just acknowledgments. Rubrics or criteria guide quality responses.		Prompts are thoughtful; Interaction expectations clearly stated and measurable, peer response criteria are specific and require engagement with content of peers' posts.	Peer responses required but criteria vague; minimal responses accepted (such as 'I agree')	No peer response requirement; discussions are one-directional posts only.
2.3	Community-Building Opportunities   QM Specific Review Standards 5.2, 5.4		Course includes intentional icebreakers, introductions, or social spaces that help students connect and build a learning community.		Structured and optional community spaces provided; students encouraged to engage authentically.	Basic introduction forum present; limited ongoing community support.	No community-building elements; students work in isolation.

Recommendation: Instructors can improve their RSI score by providing regular and substantive student <-> student interaction based on the parameters outlined above. Review the resources below to help add these interactions to the courses.

Collaborative Learning Activities:

• Implement Moodle or external tools into course activities and assessments which require student interaction and collaboration. See Clarkson's Guide to Engagement & Interaction. The tools listed foster student interaction, participation, and collaboration—whether in real-time or asynchronously. Use them to spark discussions, gather insights, or make learning more active and social.
• Add and regularly utilize tools that help faculty and students connect, collaborate, and share ideas. Use them to create interactive discussions, virtual teamwork, or real-time class engagement. See Clarkson's Guide to Communication & Collaboration.

Examples of Collaborative Learning Activities:

1. Have students create a short video showing an experiment they conduct to show their understanding of the physics concepts covered in the course. Have students comment on each other’s videos with their questions. 

2. Provide students with guidelines for creating study groups for working on homework together (students have Zoom accounts, too). This gives them an opportunity to learn from each other.

3. At a minimum, create an Introductions/Icebreaker forum to begin creating a sense of class community right from the start. 

4. And add a Q&A forum for communication between students and instructors. 

Discussions and News & Announcements:

Communication is Key | Clarkson's Bookstack  

• Whether taking a math, physics, physical therapy, or digital marketing class, students need to feel they are not in it alone. Get them talking, assess their contributions and provide feedback to help students learn the material. Here are various ways to communicate with students in Moodle.

Examples for discussions:

1. Muddiest Point Forum: Use the discussion forums to have students share what they are struggling with the most each week. Make participation mandatory. This creates a dialogue where students can learn from their instructor AND from each other. Provide guidance to them where needed.

2. Scenario Based Forum: Think about the topic students are learning whether it be calculus or business, where would the topic be implemented in various scenarios. Have students role play parts in the scenario and see where it leads. Provide guidance when needed or play a role yourself.

The TLC instructional design team would be happy to brainstorm/partner with you to increase RSI in your online course. Reach out by submitting a request to helpdesk@clarkson.edu.