Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)

The federal government requires, and through accreditors enforces, the requirement that courses delivered via distance education have Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI). This means that faculty teaching distance education courses must provide regular and academic content-based contact between instructors and students. RSI differentiates between distance education college courses and correspondence courses, the latter of which are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Good RSI practices are also a hallmark of quality teaching – the more interaction students and faculty have, and the more knowledge shared with students, the more likely students will succeed.

RSI at Yuba College

Site visitors took random samples of our asynchronous distance education courses from Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 and did not see evidence that 85% or more of classes in either sample were providing sufficient RSI. In February 2026, Yuba College received notice from our accreditor that we were reaccredited for 18 months with a follow-up report due March 1, 2027 and a site visit. Site visitors will take another sample of our distance education courses at that point to ensure at least 85% have regular and substantive interaction.

What is RSI?

The federal definition comes from 34 CFR Part 602, which provides definitions for regular interaction and substantive interaction. Regular interaction requires both providing “predictable and scheduled” opportunities for interactions with each student and monitoring student engagement in order to provide substantive interaction when needed. Substantive interaction consists of two of the following: synchronous instruction, providing feedback, answering questions or providing additional information, facilitating group discussions, or other if approved by the accreditor. (ACCJC does not offer other.)

Each section of distance education courses must provide both facets in order to satisfy federal law. Our accreditor’s checklists are directly based off of this law and are available on their website.

What are some examples of good RSI practices?

  • Having regular office hours opportunities spelled out in syllabus and in student announcements
  • Weekly instructor-led content discussions or lectures with mandatory participation
  • Instructor response to academic/discipline questions
  • Weekly announcements providing substantive content (e.g., clarify or expand concepts)
  • Instructor-facilitated discussion forums with substantive dialogue
  • Substantive feedback on student-created content
  • Monitoring engagement and reaching out to students who don’t appear to be engaged

Faculty Resources

We are working hard to develop and gather resources to support faculty enhancement of their RSI practices. Take a look at the CIE Canvas shell (must be logged in to your YCCD account) for recorded workshops, self-check tools, sample syllabus language, and helpful tips from other institutions.