Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 5, § 55204 - Instructor Contact

In addition to the requirements of section 55002 and any locally established requirements applicable to all courses, district governing boards shall ensure that:

(a) Any portion of a course conducted through distance education includes regular and substantive interaction between the instructor(s) and students, (and among students, if described in the course outline of record or 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.

(b) "Substantive interaction" means engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion, and also includes at least two of the following:

(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.

(c) Regular interaction between a student and instructor(s) is ensured by, prior to the student's completion of a course or competency:

(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.

(d) Regular and substantive interaction is an academic and professional matter pursuant to sections 53200 et seq.

(e) For purposes of calculating instructional time in the context of asynchronous distance education, a week of instructional time is any week in which:

(1) The institution makes available the instructional materials, other resources, and instructor support necessary for academic engagement and completion of course objectives; and

(2) The institution expects enrolled students to perform educational activities demonstrating academic engagement during the week.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 5, § 55204

Note: Authority cited: Sections 66700 and 70901, Education Code. Reference: Sections 70901 and 70902, Education Code; and title 34 Code of Federal Regulations sections 600.2 and 668.3.

1. New section filed 7-17-2007; operative 8-16-2007. Submitted to OAL for printing only pursuant to Education Code section 70901.5 (Register 2007, No. 35).
2. Amendment of subsection (a) filed 2-15-2019; operative 3/17/2019. Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Education Code section 70901.5 (Register 2019, No. 8).
3. Amendment of section and Note filed 10-5-2022; operative 11-4-2022. Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Education Code section 70901.5 (Register 2022, No. 42).
4. Amendment of subsection (a) filed 11-4-2022; operative 12/4/2022. Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Education Code section 70901.5 (Register 2022, No. 45).