Online Learning Requirements and 5 Focus Factors of RSI

Many of us do not regularly read policies on higher education online learning requirements and regulations. Yet, during the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education issued updated rules and requirements for distance education. These updated legal federal requirements now include something called “Regular and Substantive Interaction” – or RSI for short – between a student and an instructor. During this session, we will focus on the DoE RSI requirements for online teaching and learning environments including asynchronous, synchronous, and blended/hybrid platforms.

What do these recent changes mean for faculty and the programs offering online education? How can faculty prepare their online course to meet these mandated requirements? What elements should be included within an online course to meet the RSI requirements? Where can faculty go for help?

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the updated definition of distance education
• Recognize the differences between a correspondence course and distance education
• Define RSI
• List 5 factors that are the focus of RSI
• Identify how the IDLD team can evaluate your online course to meet RSI requirements