Kaskaskia College’s distance learning education will maintain full compliance with the requirements for distance education as established by the U.S. Department of Education (US DoE) policy 34 CFR 600.2 and related policies. The college’s institutional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) may provide further guidance regarding distance education that can be adopted by the college.

Definitions 

Kaskaskia College defines distance learning as established by the US DoE in 34 CFR 600.2, which defines distance education as:  “Education that uses one or more of the technologies listed…to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor or instructors, and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor or instructors, either synchronously or asynchronously.” The US DoE provides examples of technologies that may be used to deliver distance education, including:

1. The internet;

2. One-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite, or wireless communications devices;

3. Audio conferencing; or

4. Other media used in a course in conjunction with any of the technologies listed in definitions referenced by US DoE 34 CFR 600.2.

Faculty Qualifications

Instructors teaching distance learning courses or other educational experiences must meet the qualifications as established in Kaskaskia College’s Faculty and Instructional Staff Credentialing Policy and Procedure

Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI)

The US DoE established guidelines that institutions must follow to ensure interactions between instructor and learner are regular and substantive in any distance education mode of delivery.

Regular Interaction

An institution must ensure regular interaction between a student and an instructor or instructors, prior to the student’s completion of a course or competency. This includes (per US DoE standards in 34 CFR 600.2):

1. Providing the opportunity for substantive interactions with the student on a predictable and scheduled basis commensurate with the length of time and the amount of content in the course or competency; and
2. Monitoring the student’s academic engagement and success and ensuring that an instructor is responsible for promptly and proactively engaging in substantive interaction with the student when needed, on the basis of such monitoring, or upon request by the student

For clarification, Kaskaskia College must ensure that regular interactions in courses meet the following requirements:

• Interaction is between the instructor or instructors of record and the student for the educational experience (e.g. a course)
• Interaction is initiated by the instructor or instructors of record
• Interactions should be in accordance with a schedule and predictable for the learner
• Interactions should be academic in nature and relevant to the education experience provided

An example of a regularly scheduled interaction from the perspective of a course:

• Interaction must be “regular” or weekly with the class as a whole (Summarization of discussion post or providing additional learning materials) or individually (providing feedback on discussion question comments or on homework) with a combination of both types of interaction throughout the course.
• “Regular” or “Weekly” is defined by this policy as a minimum of five interactions per credit hour. This formula is based on the model of a traditional, three credit hour, face-to-face, 15 week term class where one class session is defined as weekly interaction. Therefore, a one credit hour class would require five substantive interactions within any given term; a three credit hour class would require 15 substantive interactions within any given term, etc. Must be predictable and scheduled with tracking and intervention taking place.

Substantive Interaction

Interactions between learner and instructor(s) must be substantive in nature as established by the DoE. Instructors must engage students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the curriculum and pedagogy of the educational experience. Per DoE standards (34 CFR 600.2), at least two of the following must be used:

1. Providing direct instruction;
2. Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework;
3. Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency;
4. Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency; or,
5. Other instructional activities approved by the institution’s or program’s accrediting agency.

For clarification, the college provides the following examples:

• Course materials (ex. recorded webinars, videos, and reading materials) which facilitate synchronous or asynchronous interactions and require the student to complete an activity.
• Constructive feedback on student assignments, which identifies specifically what has been done correctly, needs improvement, or guides students to the next steps of learning. Brief comments like “good job” or “you need to improve” are not substantive.
• Synchronous online meetings and chats that further explore course material and answer student questions.
• Regular participation by the instructor in discussion activities with students, perhaps to provide a summary, to correct errors of fact, to keep the discussion on topic, and/or to add expertise to the content of the discussion.

Kaskaskia College monitors RSI as established in the Distance Learning Engagement Procedure.

Replaces Distance Learning Engagement Policy 3.75 Approved December 17, 2018; Revised April 20, 2022