OSCQR has been updated to assist campuses, instructional designers (IDs), and faculty ensure that online courses can demonstrate designs comply with the new US Department of Education regulation requiring Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) between online learners and their instructor(s). You will be provided with an overview of OSCQR and the tools and information to improve the instructional design (including RSI) and accessibility in online courses.
SUNY Online and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) are very pleased to announce the release of OSCQR 4.0!
OSCQR 4.0 has updated standards and documentation to reflect the new US Federal Department of Education regulation regarding requirements for Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) in all online/distance education courses for financial aid purposes that went into effect on July 1, 2021.
OSCQR has been updated with the RSI lens to assist campuses, instructional designers (IDs), and faculty ensure that online courses can demonstrate designs that support regular and substantive interaction between online learners and their instructor(s).
Working with a volunteer campus-based workgroup, OSCQR standards were reviewed and updated, and OSCQR supporting materials, resources, and documentation were refreshed. The intention is to make sure that Regular and Substantive Interaction is clearly visible, articulated, and highlighted in specific OSCQR standards, and in all related OSCQR support materials.
In addition to the use of OSCQR, other activities are essential to fully ensure RSI compliance, such as faculty/ID training and awareness building, online teaching skills, institutional/departmental policy and monitoring, but the new version of OSCQR is one tool that can be used to support RSI in the instructional design of any online course.
The .PDF of the new OSCQR 4.0 rubric is available for use/download now. The online interactive OSCQR rubric and dashboards will be available before the new year.
In this session you will:
- Receive an overview of the new OSCQR 4.0 self-assessment rubric and discuss how to apply the standards.
- See how the OSCQR rubric address Regular and Substantive Interaction, Instructional design and Accessibility, and how it can be used to create an online course action plan for the continuous improvement of an online course.
- Leave the session prepared to conduct an online course review with the OSCQR rubric.
- Become a SUNY Online Fellow in the "Friend of SUNY" role, so we can continue the conversation started in the session.
- Introduction to OSCQR (self-assessment) badge
- Take home the OSCQR Self-Assessment Rubric.
- Be invited to join the OSCQR usergroup.
Additional Resources to Explore:
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/rsi/ - a general overview of RSI, the regulation, definitions.
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/rsi/rsi-standards/ - the standards that have been identified as specifically addressing RSI in some way, OR the standards that can be leveraged to support RSI if implemented in that way.
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/how-oscqr-supports-rsi/ - explains the narrow scope of OSCQR on instructional design, and that the RSI enhancements to OSCQR and OSCQR itself is just a tool, and one part of larger campus, faculty, and ID efforts to ensure quality in general, and compliance with RSI.
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/rsi/whats-new/ - lists an overview of the changes made.
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/rsi/rsi-references-and-resources/ - lists citations and references.
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/change-log/ - lists all (not just RSI-related) the specific changes made for 4.0. for example: what the standard was, and what it was changed to.
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/acknowledgements/ - lists and recognizes the contributions of the RSI campus volunteer workgroup members.
- https://oscqr.suny.edu/get-oscqr/ - get OSCQR tools.
- https://online.suny.edu/onlineteaching/ - SUNY Online Teaching
- SUNY Online - https://online.suny.edu/faculty-and-staff/
- SUNY – http://suny.edu