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As artificial intelligence and the potential for automation grows, we all know that there is no replacement for the relationship that students form with their professors or the skill of the faculty members or instructional staff in a course.  We see the critical role of faculty and instructional staff members in the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) definition of distance education. As we experiment with the wonderful possibilities of artificial intelligence to help our students learn, this is a reminder to keep the USDE’s guidance around regular and substantive interaction in mind. As you will see below, it is required, for student success as well as federal financial aid eligibility that faculty and instructional staff members regularly and substantially interact with students in their distance education courses. 

Distance Education and Regular Substantive Interaction

  • The U.S. Department of Education emphasizes the importance of regular and substantive interaction in distance education courses. This interaction ensures that students receive meaningful engagement and support in online learning environments. Compliance with these requirements is essential for federal financial aid eligibility.
  • Regular interaction refers to:
    • interactions that are on a predictable and scheduled basis  
    • monitoring the student’s academic engagement and success
    • instructors promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed based on 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 = “live synchronous instruction where both the instructor and the student are online and in communication at the same time.”​
    • 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

Practices and Guidelines 

There has been an effort and an expectation to ensure students are in a space that is as conducive to learning and engagement as possible.

Here are some best practices and guidelines for online instruction for faculty and instructional staff to follow: 

  1. Clearly communicate course expectations, objectives, and policies throughout the semester.
  2. Plan and design course materials logically and consistently. Use a consistent format for modules, lectures, assignments, and assessments to help students navigate the course easily.  Instructional Designers in the College’s IDEA lab can partner with faculty to create an effective and engaging course.
  3. Meet the same learning outcomes and same credit hours in online courses as face-to-face courses. 
  4. Create opportunities for student-to-student engagement and a sense of community. Incorporate interactive elements such as discussion forums, group activities, and multimedia content to keep students engaged and foster a sense of community.
  5. Create robust faculty-to-student engagement by offering office hours, facilitating discussions, providing opportunities for collaboration, and showing yourself on camera during these interactions. Accommodations to this guideline may be provided to qualified individuals through the College’s Disability or Religious accommodations processes.
  6. Ensure that all course materials are accessible to students with disabilities. Learn more about digital accessibility at the AACC Digital Accessibility Guidelines.
  7. Provide timely and constructive feedback on assignments and assessments to help students track their progress and improve their performance.
  8. Orient students to your online course.  Offer technical support and resources to help students navigate Canvas and troubleshoot any issues they may encounter.
  9. Seek feedback from students to identify areas for improvement.
  10. Stay updated on the latest research and best practices in online instruction.
  11. Connect students with support services such as Disability Support Services, tutoring, Health Services, which includes counseling, and academic advising to help them succeed in their courses.
  12. Enroll in Focus on Facilitation (XVC 262) if new to online teaching.
  13. Teach courses according to the advertised modality. For example, an “online” asynchronous course cannot have a required synchronous meeting. If, because of the nature of the course, a synchronous meeting is required [e.g., an oral assessment in a language class], these should be scheduled with flexibility to accommodate students’ schedules.  For synchronous meetings offered optionally [e.g., syllabus review at the beginning of a semester], consider appropriate ways to provide similar content to students who are unable to attend. Students who are not able to participate in a synchronous meeting should not be penalized.

These guidelines become mandatory on August 24, 2024, and faculty/instructional staff are required to follow them. By following these guidelines, we can create a positive and effective online learning environment that promotes student engagement and success.

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