On February 2, 2024, the College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee (ASCC) approved changes to the  ASC Distance Approval Cover Sheet and the ASC Distance Learning Syllabus Template to greater emphasize Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) in developing and approving online courses in the college.   

Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI) in distance education refers to meaningful and consistent engagement between students and their instructors or the educational content. The changes to the ASC Distance Approval Cover Sheet and the ASC Distance Learning Syllabus Template align the ASC course approval process to recent changes in definitions and regulatory language related to distance education and provide guidance for the development of innovative online courses in the future.  

The ASC Office of Distance Education has published a resource to support instructors interested in learning more about RSI. This article provides a complete description of Regular and Substantive Interaction, how this can be improved and evaluated in online courses, additional resources to learn more, and links to Teaching and Learning Scholarship that affirms that essential value of instructor/student interactions in online learning spaces.