The U.S. Department of Education requires that all hybrid and online courses eligible for Title IV federal financial aid include Regular and Substantive Interaction between instructors and students. This regulation is not optional; it demands that we establish consistent and meaningful engagement between instructors and students to ensure a quality online and hybrid learning experience. By meeting these expectations, we enhance student outcomes and clearly differentiate our hybrid and online courses from correspondence courses, which are ineligible for federal aid. Read more about RSI by visiting Open SUNY’s Regular and Substantive Interaction page in their Open SUNY Course Quality Rubric (OSCQR) resource.

Key Components

Regular Interaction:

• Scheduled and predictable engagement throughout the course.
• Instructor-initiated communication.
• Monitoring of student progress with proactive outreach.

Substantive Interaction:

• Must involve at least two of the following instructional activities on a regular basis:
  • Direct instruction.
  • Assessment and feedback on student work.
  • Responding to student questions about course content.
  • Facilitating group discussions.
  • Other instructional activities approved by the institution.

These interactions can occur synchronously or asynchronously, but must be meaningful and academic in nature.