Regular and Substantive Interactions

In response to the spread of COVID-19 and the current physical-distancing requirements, there has been a significant increase in the need to develop online courses. An important aspect of designing these asynchronous learning environments is to include multiple types of interactions to maintain student engagement and improve learning. In fact, the US Department of Education has set guidelines for “regular and substantive interactions” that are used to discriminate between distance education courses which are eligible for financial aid, and correspondence courses with reduced eligibility for aid. LCCC does not offer correspondence courses; we attest to that in our accreditation statements to the HLC.

The Department of Education provides the following general descriptors as fundamental principles for “regular and substantive interactions”:

1. Interaction must be initiated by the instructor in the form of delivering content, guidance, support, and performance feedback.
2. Interaction must be “regular” and structured to occur frequently, such as a weekly discussion, assignment, or announcement.
3. Interaction must be “substantive” and of a meaningful academic nature, by providing direct instruction, responding to questions, and assessing learning activities.
4. Interaction must be with an instructor who meets accrediting agency standards and qualifications to teach the subject matter.

Consistent and recurring interactions between the instructor and learners has been found to be the most critical factor for student success in online environments. A lack of feeling connected to faculty has been shown in past research to be a significant variable in the students' sense of engagement and their potential for course completion. Frequent interactions with the instructor helps students feel an increased sense of teaching presence, participation in a learning community, and social affiliations, which leads to higher levels of achievement. Providing “regular and substantive interactions” helps direct students through the educational process, and assures them of having available guidance to improve their learning.