R &SI Substantive Regular Tips

R&SI

A robust online course has interaction and a substantive feedback loop between the student and instructor that is regular and initiated by the instructor. The Department of Education (DOE) can, and has, audited online classes to check that R&SI exists in order to fund students for certain types of financial aid. You were hired to teach a course partly due to your expertise in the subject area and the intention of R&SI regulations are to ensure that students actually benefit from that expertise.

A recent report by the Office of the Inspector General summarized these terms by their "ordinary meaning":

Substantive: Relevant to the subject matter of the course
Regular: Occurring with some reasonable frequency considering the school-suggested length of the course ^[4]
⁴ See the Final Audit Report, ED-OIG/A05M009 at 14-15.

It is still vague so....

What does it mean for me?

For a quick break down of what it may look like in your class and some considerations as you continue to learn about teaching online, view this primer on:

Examples of Regular and Substantive Interaction Online

Substantive

What counts as substantive interaction?

- Direct, personalized, interaction between the student and instructor related to pursuit of a course outcome, initiated by the instructor. Students should be hearing from their instructor even if they are not struggling and do not specifically request assistance from the instructor.
- This feedback provides substantive critique, comment, and/or evaluation for work submitted by individual students or groups, referring to additional sources for supplementary information where appropriate and guides a path for improvement.
- The feedback process continues the learning experience, adds depth and insight to the discussion already provided by the student, and affords the instructor an opportunity to reaffirm key concepts as well as provides closure. The interaction is robust and individualized, providing explanation of how to improve
- When a rubric is used , specific feedback tailored to the student’s performance is provided above and beyond the standard text within the rubric categories.

Examples

A good standard for assessing whether your interactions are substantive is to ask yourself: does this exchange impart the benefit of my expertise in the subject area? Would someone need my education, training, and professional experience in this subject area in order to provide this information?

Important messaging but not considered substantive feedback:

- "You received a 95% on the quiz. Nice job!"
- "Your grade is a C because you are missing an assignment that was due two weeks ago."
- "I just wanted to take a moment to welcome you to the course!"
- "Not quite! Try again!"
- "Don't forget that your paper is due on Monday!"

All of these types of messages could be written by anyone with little or no knowledge of your subject area, so they DO NOT impart the benefit of your expertise to the student.

Compare to more substantive feedback:

- "Great point about the social components of poverty-- have you considered how those social components vary from country to country?"
- "If you are still confused about cellular respiration, I suggest reviewing the explanation on pg. 136 and this article."
- "You made a mistake in your calculations. Check your work on line 3."

All of these address academics specific to the teacher's discipline that a person without background in that subject might not be equipped to provide. That is the point of substantive interaction!

Regular

What counts as regular interaction?

The expectation is that there is regular interaction from instructor to student. Only interaction which is substantive can be used as evidence of being regular—this includes feedback on assignments and quizzes, and instructor comments in discussions. Use of multiple channels is encouraged: that is, it does not need to be the same type of communication each time to qualify.

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