4.3 Regular Student-to-Instructor Engagement
Learning activities provide opportunities for regular interaction between students and instructor. Instructors must interact weekly with students.
Examples include assignments that require instructor feedback, interaction during a synchronous or asynchronous class discussion, announcements sent to students, weekly course summaries, messages sent through the LMS.
Points: 3 (Essential)
QM Alignment: 5.2, 5.3, RI – SACS
Overview
Beginning July 1, 2021, Florida implemented specific definitions for the “regular and substantive interaction” (RSI) requirements for online courses.
Regular Interaction
An institution ensures regular interaction between a student and and instructor or instructors by, prior to the student’s completion of a course or competency:
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Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and scheduled basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; and
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Monitoring the student’s academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student.
The measure of interaction is based over the length of the course. There is not an exact standard like “once a week.” In a course there may be sound academic reasons for not having interaction in a given week, but the syllabus outlines when activities will happen that are course appropriate.
Substantive Interaction
See standard 4.4.
Tips
When engaging with students, regular student-to-instructor interactions should…
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Take place with the instructor.
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Be initiated by the instructor.
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Be scheduled and predictable.
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Be academic in nature and relevant to the course.
How will you use communication tools to facilitate your online course and engage with students?
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Step 1: Which online tools will you use to communicate?
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Step 2: What is the purpose for the tool?
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Step 3: How will you manage communications?
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Step 4: How will you facilitate your lessons to ensure instructor presence?
Ways to Meet Standard 4.3
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Learning activities provide opportunities for regular interaction between students and instructor.
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Instructors must interact weekly with students.
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Assignments that require instructor feedback (not automated quizzes and tests)
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Interaction during a synchronous or asynchronous class discussion
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Announcements sent to students
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Instructor-provided weekly course summaries
Resources
- Video summary of Regular & Substantive Interaction
- More info on Regular & Substantive Interaction
- Video: Regulatory Clarification and Design Implications of Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)
Feedback/Errata