Contributors: Jessica Sanchez, Raymundo Garza, and Claudia Vela

Policy

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education made public updated regulatory definitions of distance education that higher education institutions receiving Title IV funds must comply with in the Distance Education and Innovation Ruling. This site will focus on the federal requirement to meet regular and substantive interaction in distance education.

The U.S. Department of Education requires that all online courses for which students may use Title IV funds (federal financial aid) “ensure that there is regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors.”

To see the updated ruling, please visit Federal Registrars Distance Education and Innovation

Regulations Effective Date: July 1, 2021

Applies to: Distance and competency-based education

Background:

The term regular and substantive came about in 2005 due to fraud cases related to correspondence courses. The government was interested in severely limiting financial aid eligibility for these courses to protect the consumer- our students. In 2006, recognizing that online coursework was becoming an increasingly significant part of postsecondary education, Congress decided to distinguish distance education from correspondence courses to remove limitations on distance education programs and make them more accessible to students. The term “regular and substantive interaction” was included in the definition of distance education to help differentiate distance from correspondence courses.

Benefits and Costs of RSI

Benefits:

1. Student Success
2. Improved student learning outcomes and retention
3. Effective teaching
4. High-quality education
5. Student access to federal financial aid (Title IV funds)

Cost:

The Department of Education has the authority to review distance learning offerings at colleges and universities that receive federal funds. An institution that offers distance education risks losing funds in student aid if failing to meet the regular and substantive requirements provided by the U.S. Department of Education on Distance Education and Innovation.

Institutions offering more than 50 percent of their total course offerings via correspondence or enrolling more than 50 percent of their students in correspondence courses are not eligible to participate in Title IV financial aid programs.

Definitions

The definitions come from the US. Department of Education in 34 C.F.R. § 600.2. The intent of updating these definitions is to delineate more clearly between correspondence and distance education courses.

Distance education means education that uses one or more of the technologies listed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this definition to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, either synchronously or asynchronously. The technologies may include –

1. The internet;
2. One-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices;
3. Audio conferencing; or
4. Other media used in a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed in paragraphs (1) through (3) of this definition.

Correspondence is a course provided by an institution under which the institution provides instructional materials, by mail or electronic transmission, including examinations on the materials, to students who are separated from the instructor. Interaction between the instructor and student is limited, is not regular and substantive, and is primarily initiated by the student. Correspondence courses are typically self-paced.

Regular interaction requires an institution to ensure, “before the student completes a course or competency,” that there is “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.” The institution also is responsible for 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 based on such monitoring or upon request by the student.

Substantive interaction is engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion. It must include at least two of five components:

• Providing direct instruction
• Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework
• Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency
• Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency
• Other instructional activities are approved by the institution’s or program’s accrediting agency (such as SACSCOC).

Criteria to address RSI

Four criteria need to be addressed to ensure the course meets regular and substantive interaction.

The interaction must be: