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Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)

Regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is a set of practices that aims to create active learning communities in online courses, and is essential for keeping students engaged, promoting learning, and ensuring they stay motivated. It intends to create meaningful and consistent engagement between students and their instructors. 

Click on a drop-down below for more details on that topic:

    • What is RSI?

      Regular and substantive interaction (RSI) is a defined part of federal and California state education code.

      Institutions that offer distance learning courses are held to a standard defined at the federal level through the Higher Education Act (HEA) (CFR 600.2), in which the definitions of distance education state that it must “support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor, synchronously or asynchronously." 

      The definition of Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) is left flexible such that individual institutions interpret its meaning. At Mt. SAC, RSI is defined in the Administrative Procedure on Distance Learning (AP 4105), which interprets Regular and Substantive Interaction in Distance Learning Courses at Mt. SAC. This AP is periodically revised. It was last revised in January 2023. This opening paragraph of AP 4105 (immediately below) describes which courses must use Regular and Substantive interaction (RSI).  

      Any portion of a course conducted through distance education must include regular and substantive interaction between the instructor(s) and students (and among students if described in the distance education addendum), either synchronously or asynchronously, through group or individual meetings, orientation, and review sessions, supplemental seminar or study sessions, field trips, library workshops, telephone contact, voice mail, e-mail, or other activities. An instructor is an individual responsible for delivering course content and who meets the qualifications for instruction established by an institution's accrediting agency. 

       

    • RSI History at Mt. SAC
      AY  2018/2019

      2018: A faculty workgroup was tasked to create a rubric and process to review what was then called Regular and Effective contact (REC).

      Spring 2019: the REC work group, a subgroup of the Distance Learning Committee (DLC) worked to create a rubric and process in response to negotiated language in the Agreement between the Faculty Association and Mt. SAC District.

      Reference: Senate Taskforce Report to Academic Senate, April 11, 2024 (links to references are at the bottom)

      AY 2019/2020

      October 2019: The Distance Learning Committee reviewed and approved the rubric and process proposed by the work group.

      February 2020: The full Academic Senate approved the process. However, before the process could be negotiated, the COVID-19 pandemic began, creating urgent priorities and the need for processes that allowed the entire campus to move to online operations.

      Reference: Senate Taskforce Report to Academic Senate, April 11, 2024 (links to references are at the bottom)

      AY 2021/2022

      2021: Mt. SAC continue to navigate pandemic conditions. The pandemic conditions and the move to online for all education across the state and nation created the conditions to review and revise distance learning regulations at the state and federal level. 

      2022: Changes were made to both the federal and state language related to distance education. The state transitioned from its prior terminology (Regular and Effective Contact or REC) to match the language used in federal education code (Regular and Substantive Interaction or RSI).

      Reference: Senate Taskforce Report to Academic Senate, April 11, 2024 (links to references are at the bottom)

      AY 2022/2023

      2022: In September 2022, the DLC revisited the topic of REC, now RSI, in response to Article 13.A.4 of the Faculty Contract which states that: 

      There shall be a certification process for regular and effective contact (REC). This certification process is separate and distinct from the SPOT certification process. The Academic Senate in consultation with the Faculty Association and the District will create a rubric that identifies regular and effective contact. The rubric will be used only to determine regular and effective contact. 

      The RSI rubric was moved from its own workgroup to the workgroup for Canvas Merging Shells and Related Matters, where an RSI rubric was finalized in June 2023.

      Reference: Senate Taskforce Report to Academic Senate, April 11, 2024 (links to references are at the bottom)

      AY 2023/2024

      March 2024: Senate Taskforce on Accreditation and RSI was requested by President Garcia and convened and approved by Academic Senate in March. The taskforce reviewed other colleges who had instituted and institutionalized a successful RSI review process for distance education faculty. This Taskforce created a multi-phase plan to institutionalize an RSI review process at mt. SAC, beginning with a short-term mentoring program to address immediate needs and a second phase that would address the ongoing need to support and demonstrate RSI in all online courses. 

      Spring 2024: Mt. SAC received a visit from The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) in 2024. The “Commission determined that the College must demonstrate compliance with...Standard II.A.7 and Policy on Distance Education and Correspondence Education (College Requirement 1) ...that the college ensure that regular and substantive interaction takes place in distance education courses.”  

      In response to this recommendation, the Academic Senate approved a recommendation, and a side letter was signed by the District and the Faculty Association in April 2024 to strongly encourage all Faculty teaching asynchronous, online courses to complete an RSI Review Fall 2024/Winter 2025. For more on the 2024 Accreditation visit, see the Mt. SAC Accreditation web page.

      Summer 2024: RSI Coordinators and Mentors were appointed and the RSI mentoring program planning for Fall reviews began.

      AY 2024/2025

      Fall 2024: The RSI Mentoring Program began with a session at Fall Flex Day announcing the changes and requesting faculty to sign up for the review process. 

      October 2024: The Distance Learning Committee recommended the immediate inclusion of the RSI review as a component of distance learning recertification (SPOT recertification). Working with FCLT, RSI workshops and an RSI forum was held to support faculty in understanding RSI and preparing for reviews.

      November 2024: An RSI Summit was held to showcase faculty work on RSI. Professors submitted RSI "best practice" examples that were made available for peers to review and emulate, meeting the requirements of the RSI Side Letter. This showcase, hosted in Canvas, was connected to the RSI Hub for ongoing use by professors working to complete RSI reviews.

      December 2024: A second side letter was passed, which extended the RSI Mentor Program through Spring 2025. In Spring, 100 courses will be anonymously evaluated through the internal RSI program to assess the success of the RSI review process. 

      Reference: DLC's RSI Review for SPOT Re-cert Recommendation, Oct 17, 2024. (links to references are at the bottom)

      References:

    • RSI Mentoring Program 

      The RSI Mentoring Program began in Summer 2024. It was created in response to the 2024 ACCJC recommendation  and the work of the Accreditation and RSI Taskforce (for more details, see the RSI HIstory section above). 

      RSI Mentoring Program Structure

      The RSI Mentoring Program consists of two Academic Senate-appointed RSI Coordinators and up to 10  Academic Senate-appointed RSI Faculty Peer Mentor Reviewers (RSI Mentors) who are reassigned faculty.

      RSI Faculty Peer Mentor Reviewers

      To serve as an RSI Mentor, the faculty member must be DL-certified (SPOT-certified), have "extensive online teaching experience," and "a self-identified passion for teaching online." They also complete a professional development training in distance learning best practices and ACCJC's appreciative inquiry approach prior to serving as an RSI mentor. Appointments seek a proportional distribution of mentors from across Instructional Divisions. 

      Mentors are tasked with reviewing the course shells of professors alongside a professor's completed RSI rubric in which they review and document the the regular and substantive interaction within the course. After the review, the mentor meets with the professor to discuss the review and make recommendations relevant to RSI. If changes were requested, the mentor revisits the professor's course to ensure appropriate updates have been made and communicates with the professor as needed. 

      Mentors participate in ongoing professional learning, norming sessions,  monthly check-in meetings and provide progress reports to the RSI Coordinators.  See the RSI Hub for a list of Mt. SAC's current RSI mentors. 

    • Who Must Complete an RSI Review?

      RSI Reviews are conducted on asynchronous online courses. Professors submit only one course to the formal RSI review process from the 2024/2025 academic year.  Asynchronous online courses are preferred and prioritized due to their inclusion in the review by the accreditation team. 

      You must complete an RSI Review if:

      • Your SPOT recertification is due this year and you have taught an online course of any type in the 2024/25 academic year, OR
      • You have been assigned to teach an asynchronous distance learning course in Spring 2025, regardless of your SPOT recertification status. 

      Since the requirement for an RSI review (per faculty contract) is for a course to be at least 25% complete, a past course from the 2024/25 academic year can be reviewed.

      Those who are mandated to finish a formal RSI review may submit a completed course for review. If your RSI mentor recommends changes,  you must demonstrate those changes in your new spring course shell during a follow-up visit with your mentor.

      RSI Review Deadlines

      Note that there are deadlines for mandatory reviews:

      • By Jan 31: Sign up for the RSI review process. 
      • By Feb 13: Make satisfactory progress on the review 

      For First-Time DL Professors

      If Spring 2025 is the first time you are teaching an asynchronous online course, you can prepare your spring course shell in Canvas with mentor assistance. When 25% of the course is complete, mentors will complete the review. This does not apply to those teaching only 2nd half 8 week courses or other non-standard scheduled courses. In this instance, you should follow up with your dean, the RSI coordinators, and Faculty Association leaders to learn what to do to meet this requirement.

      References: 

    • To Start Your RSI Review

       

      Reviews include these basic steps: 

      Step 1: Sign Up 

      Sign up for an RSI Review using the RSI Review Registration Form.  Only complete this form once. You will receive “Getting Started”email upon signing-up.  If you don’t, please contact Sheila Wright or Jenny Gernhart (RSI Coordinators) at rsicoordinators@mtsac.edu 

      Step 2: Review the RSI Hub & Start Self-Review

      After registering,  you may wait a few weeks to be assigned a mentor.  However, you can go ahead and get started by accessing the RSI Hub. This open course provides you with the self-review form, information, templates, and videos: basically everything you need to begin a self-review of your class for RSI. Use these resources for the formal review and feel free to use them for any course where you want to document your RSI (only one course will be reviewed).  Once you've completed your self review, wait to be assigned a mentor.  Reviews only happen after courses are at least 25% over because the review needs some interaction to take place before it can be evaluated.

      Step 3: Work with Your Mentor

      Once your mentor is assigned,  you will receive an email introducing you to your mentor and letting you know that you've been enrolled in your mentor's section of the RSI Hub. Now you can submit your RSI Self-Review Form in the RSI Canvas Assignment for this purpose. You can only see this assignment and submit to it when you have been assigned a mentor, so if it is available, you are free to submit. Your mentor will receive a notice in Canvas that you sent it in. You must also add your mentor as a Course Reviewer into the course being reviewed. If you need help adding your mentor, see the instructions for adding people into courses offered in the RSI Hub. You cannot add people into past courses. For that you will need help from your mentor.

      Step 4: Meet with RSI Mentor

      Meet with your RSI Mentor by Zoom to go over your RSI review results. Make any adjustments noted by your mentor if they are needed to meet RSI. You may also receive some optional recommendations to follow best practices that you can implement based on your preferences. Whether something is required or simply nice to have will be communicated by your mentor, but if anything is unclear, feel free to follow up with your mentor and ask which changes were required and which were optional.

      Once your mentor agrees that your course meets the RSI requirements, your review is complete. 

      If an RSI Review is Incomplete or Unsuccessful

      • A second review may be requested by the professor with a second mentor if RSI was not found during the initial review process. Those who refuse to comply with the recommendations of the peer mentor after the second review may have their online asynchronous assignments removed by the District.
      • If, upon completion of the RSI Review, RSI is not adequate for compliance, a professor may be required to repeat SPOT certification, SPOT recertification, or its equivalent in order to maintain eligibility to teach distance learning courses.
      • If a professor was assigned an online course that qualified for an RSI review in Fall 2024 or Winter 2025 and did not complete an RSI review prior to February 13, 2025, the Division Dean may (but is not required to) reassign a professor from an asynchronous course in Spring 2025 to an in-person or synchronous online class.
        • the reassignment must align with the professor's submitted schedule of availability for Spring 2025, or be an equivalent LHE of assignment to ensure they remain whole for the Spring 2025 semester.
        • in no case shall a professor who is removed from an asynchronous course be compensated less or be expected to work more hours than they would have if they had remained assigned to their originally scheduled course. 
      • If a professor takes over a vacated asynchronous course, the newly assigned professor must have already completed a successful RSI course review, and assignments are based on seniority and expertise as defined in Article 10 of the faculty contract. 

      Need to change the course for review? Please do not fill the form out again! If you need to change the course that you'd like to submit for review, please email your mentor or the RSI Coordinators, who will change your entry or send you an update request so you can make the changes to your original entry.

      For more information, or for clarification and full language on these points, please review the Side Letter in full.

      Reference: Mt. SAC RSI Side Letter, Dec 20, 2024

    • About RSI Review Completion

      About RSI Review Completion

      RSI Mentoring & Distance Learning Professors

      Here are a few useful things to know about RSI Review Completion. You may wish to review the RSI Hub or the references provided in each section on this page to learn more details about any specific part of RSI. 

      • RSI Review Stipend: Faculty earn a stipend of 3 hours non-instructional pay for completing RSI Review in Fall 2024, Winter 2025, or Spring 2025. This includes 1 hour for self-assessing one's course with the RSI Rubric and 2 hours for meeting with the designated RSI Mentor. Typically these paid hours are included in the paycheck in the month after the review is marked complete by the mentor.
      • SPOT Recertification now requires the completion of a successful RSI Review (effective Fall 2024, approved by the Distance Learning Committee (DLC) and Academic Senate). Please see specific details on the SPOT Recertification page.
      • RSI & SPOT Recertification: Only reviews that successfully meet RSI count toward the requirement for SPOT recertification. 
      • Where is RSI Review recorded? Successful RSI review completions are added into your POD Transcript so you can download the certificate and include it in your SPOT recertification form.
      •  

      Getting Support for RSI

      • Recently completed SPOT certification? You can receive support and mentorship to meet RSI in Spring 2025 courses by contacting the RSI Mentor Program. This is a goal of the program.
      • Several RSI-related workshops are available to support faculty in addition to the RSI Hub, but no workshops are required. RSI workshops count toward SPOT recertification and are not paid through PGH/PGI because SPOT certification is tied to salary. 
      • Get Help from FCLT the FCLT can offer help with any specific questions you might have to try to implement RSI-related changes to a course, or for help with courses that are not eligible for RSI review at this time. You can make an RSI appointment with FCLT for a consultation - just know that this is NOT an RSI Review in the formal mentoring program and does not count toward the RSI requirements. 

      Reference: Mt. SAC RSI Side Letter, Dec 20, 2024

RSI Coordinators

If you have questions or need more information, please contact the RSI Coordinators, rsicoordinators@mtsac.edu  

Name Title Email
Sheila Wright Professor of English rsicoordinators@mtsac.edu
Jenny Gernhart Professor of Biology rsicoordinators@mtsac.edu