Supporting Regular and Substantive Interaction as an Academic and Professional Matter to Enhance Student Success and Meet Standards

Spring

2024

Resolution Number

107.01

Contact

Category

Accreditation

Whereas, While the California Community Colleges system has transformed in the post-pandemic era with the rise of distance education becoming a significant modality of instruction [1], for some colleges half or more of their courses are offered online, and as the system looks to the future to answer the Chancellor’s call in Vision 2030 to bring “instruction through flexible modalities, like short term and online classes, for all students,” this trend is likely to continue;

Whereas, “Distance education,” meaning instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by time and/or distance and interact through the assistance of technology to instruct students with regular and substantive interaction either synchronously or asynchronously, is highly regulated by both federal [2] and state [3] entities, and the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges follows federal guidelines;

Whereas, Given the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ academic and professional matters [4] purview as established by Title 5 §53200(b) [5], the matter of regular and substantive interaction is clearly an academic and professional matter that should be led by faculty expertise as it minimally falls directly within areas 1. curriculum including establishing prerequisites and placing courses within disciplines, 5. standards or policies regarding student preparation and success, and 7. faculty roles and involvement in accreditation processes, including self-study and annual reports; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ 2023 adopted paper Effective and Equitable Online Education: A Faculty Perspective states that “colleges and districts must have both a clear definition of regular and substantive interaction (RSI) that aligns with the federal, state, and ACCJC definitions as well as a rubric in place to assess how and where that contact is designed to take place in a course taught online”;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work collaboratively with faculty distance education experts and groups such as the California Virtual Campus Online Education Initiative, the California Community College Accessibility Center, and California Community College Distance Education Coordinators' Organization to create a guide of exemplary regular and substantive interaction practices, peer to peer evaluation standards, and a model self-assessment rubric to be shared by Spring 2025.

MSU