Beyond Compliance: Building Teaching Presence Through Regular and Substantive Interaction

The U.S. Department of Education requires online courses to include Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) between instructors and students. RSI means that instructors initiate academic interactions with students on a scheduled and predictable basis. These interactions might include providing direct instruction, facilitating discussions, offering timely and meaningful feedback, answering course-related questions, or reaching out to students who may need additional support.

RSI is required because it distinguishes distance education like Arizona Online courses from correspondence education under federal regulations. This distinction matters because students enrolled in eligible distance education programs may qualify for federal financial aid, while correspondence programs are subject to different eligibility rules. In other words, RSI is foundational to the high-quality educational experience that supports University of Arizona Online students.

Rather than thinking about RSI as a compliance checklist, consider it an opportunity to establish your teaching presence. In an online course, students won’t see you walking around the lecture hall or answering questions after class. Instead, you must intentionally “show up” in how you guide learning, communicate with students, and remain visible throughout the semester.

Putting RSI into practice

The good news is that implementing a handful of simple, consistent teaching practices can support RSI and make a significant difference for your students. Begin by asking yourself, “How will my students know I’m teaching this course every week?”

Post announcements

Announcements are one of the simplest ways to maintain an active instructor presence throughout the semester. Instead of limiting announcements to due-date reminders, consider using them to provide weekly overviews, address common misconceptions you've noticed while grading, highlight excellent student thinking, connect course concepts to current events, or share career resources for your discipline.

Think of announcements as an opportunity to provide the kinds of updates and guidance you might naturally share with students in a face-to-face class.

Be visible

Short, informal videos (either as announcements or weekly overviews) can be especially effective because students hear your voice and see your personality. These videos don’t need to be highly produced. In fact, authenticity often matters more than polish.

In a face-to-face class, you wouldn’t teach from behind a curtain. You’d be visible to your students as you lecture, answer questions, and react to what is happening in the classroom. An online course doesn’t banish you to a series of voiceover PowerPoints.

A quick update recorded from your office can be more engaging than a carefully scripted presentation because it reminds students there is a real instructor actively teaching the course. You might recap what students accomplished that week, clarify a concept that seemed to cause confusion, or simply let students know what to expect next.

Create dedicated spaces for questions

Students often have questions that don’t fit neatly into a specific assignment or discussion prompt. Consider creating an “Ask Me Anything” or weekly Q&A discussion forum where students can ask content-related questions, clarify expectations, or share ideas with their classmates.

These informal discussion spaces lower the barrier to asking for help while allowing everyone to benefit from the answers. Moderate the forum and be responsive. Think of this as the equivalent of students raising their hands or stopping by after class to ask a question.

Reach out before students fall behind

One of the most effective ways to demonstrate teaching presence is by contacting students before they disengage.

Brightspace’s Intelligent Agents tool can automate personalized messages based on student activity, allowing you to maintain regular communication without creating additional manual work. For example, you might automatically send a welcome message when students first enter the course, congratulate them after completing a major milestone, remind them about upcoming deadlines, or check in with students who have not logged in recently.

You can also use Intelligent Agents to identify students who meet particular criteria so you can follow up with them personally. Automated communication doesn’t have to feel impersonal. When messages are thoughtfully written in your own voice, they remind students that someone is paying attention to their progress and wants them to succeed.

Make feedback a conversation

Feedback is one of the most valuable opportunities to establish teaching presence because it allows you to connect with students individually.

Effective feedback explains what students did well, identifies opportunities for improvement, and provides concrete next steps. Timely feedback is just as important as meaningful feedback. Students need an opportunity to implement your feedback while they are still working through the learning process. If students submit a draft, for example, avoid asking them to submit the next stage of the assignment before you've given them feedback on the first. Otherwise, you may be asking students to repeat mistakes that you could have helped them correct.

Using a conversational tone can make written comments feel more personal, while audio or video feedback adds another layer of connection by allowing students to hear your voice.

Furthermore, connect your feedback to the course/module learning outcomes so students understand not only what needs improvement, but also why it matters. Inviting students to ask follow-up questions or discuss your comments during office hours can transform feedback into an ongoing conversation rather than a one-way evaluation.

Rethink office hours

Office hours provide another opportunity for meaningful interaction, but simply posting a weekly time and hoping students attend may not be enough. Many students are intimidated by office hours or aren’t sure whether their question is “important enough” to bring to an instructor.

Consider creating a reason for students to attend. You might give each week’s office hours a theme, host a review game before an exam, work through a common problem together, or invite students to bring questions about an upcoming assignment. Advertise the topic in advance so students know what they can expect.

The goal isn’t necessarily to get more students to attend every week. Instead, it’s to make office hours feel like an approachable extension of the learning experience rather than a place students should visit only when they are struggling.

Teaching presence is good teaching

There are dozens of ways to build RSI into an online course, but you don’t need to implement all of them. Start by looking for opportunities to make your teaching more visible and your interactions more intentional.

Ask yourself where students might be wondering, “What does my instructor think about this?”,“Am I on the right track?”, or “What should I do next?” Then look for ways to provide that guidance.

When students regularly encounter a visible, accessible, and invested instructor, they are more likely to feel supported as they work through the course. The practices that create that sense of connection (answering questions, providing feedback, sharing guidance, and reaching out proactively) also provide meaningful opportunities to meet the RSI principles.

RSI is so much more than meeting a federal requirement. It is about showing your students there is an instructor on the other side of the screen who is actively involved in their learning.