Classroom Recordings: Know Your Rights
Can students record faculty lectures? The answer isn’t always straightforward, but your rights as faculty are clear. Here’s what you need to know.
Your Right to Control Recording
The starting point is simple: In general, your lectures cannot be recorded without your consent. As the instructor, you hold rights over your image and therefore can grant or decline a request to record. This control is true regardless of if the request is from a student or your Academic Chair – you cannot be required to record your lectures.
There is also a broader classroom consideration: Recording may capture other students, including their participation and personal contributions. This may violate their right to privacy. Therefore, all students should be informed of any recording occurring in a classroom and have the option to opt out where possible. If these conditions cannot be met, you can decline a general request to record for classroom privacy reasons.
If you choose to allow a student to record, make sure they know:
- It must be for the student’s personal study use only.
- Sharing, posting, selling, or distributing recordings beyond that use may be considered academic misconduct under AC.3.4.3
When Recording Is an Accommodation
However, not all recording requests are the same. A student asking to record for convenience is very different from a student who has an approved accommodation. In these cases, the student will have an accommodation memo. Accommodation memos are managed through SAIT’s Accessibility Services department in a formal process, while general requests remain entirely at your discretion.
It is important to note that an accommodation request does not automatically mean recording must occur. The duty to accommodate rests with the employer (SAIT), not with individual instructors. If recording raises concerns such as other students’ privacy or impacts on classroom participation, you are not expected to resolve this on your own or adjust your course unilaterally. Instead, you can contact the assigned Accessibility Advisor to discus your concerns. Accessibility Services is responsible for working with both you and the student to find a solution that supports access while maintaining the integrity of the learning environment for all students.
Best Practices for the Classroom
In general, to protect yourself and set clear expectations:
- Include a statement in your course outline that you do not consent to general classroom recordings.
- Remind students verbally at the start of class.
- Reference SAIT’s misconduct policies in your syllabus.
- Respect confidentiality—never discuss a student’s accommodation in front of others.
Need Support?
Have questions about recordings, accommodations, or your rights?
- Contact the SAFA office for guidance and support
- Reach out to Accessibility Services for process-related questions
- For copyright questions, you can also contact SAIT’s Copyright Librarian
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Inside Your Union: What We’re Working On
Much of SAFA’s work happens behind the scenes. Week to week, your representatives are actively reviewing policies, supporting members, participating in committees, and pushing for fair and reasonable working conditions across SAIT.
Here’s a quick update from the last month:
📌 Workload: The Faculty Workload Guidelines Committee (FWGC), a joint SAFA/SAIT group, has officially reconvened after a 2-year pause and will hold its first meeting this month. This is an important step forward, as the current guidelines have not been updated since their initial rollout in 2022, despite being intended as an evolving document.
📌 Grievance & Member Support: Members continue to raise concerns about the shift from 60 to 45 CCH course design. SAFA is supporting members by advising when issues may warrant a complaint and working with individual cases. We are also exploring targeted research by hiring an analyst to examine the effects of larger class sizes and compressed delivery on student success.
📌 Planning Ahead: SAFA Elections for President, Division IV Officer, and Academic Council Representatives are underway, with final voting on May 14th. At the same time, the SAFA Office is hard at work to organize the annual end-of-year BBQ and the May AGM.
Why this series?
Many members told us you want clearer updates about what SAFA is doing between major announcements. This series is one way we’ll provide that transparency — short, focused updates on the work underway.