Classroom Recordings – What Are My Rights?
Hello Faculty, one of the reoccurring questions that have come across my desk from you this past semester is “Can a student record my lectures in the classroom?”
The short answer is NO they can’t, but there are some conditions that make the answer more complicated.
General Requests to Record
For starters, you own the copyright of your image, so without your expressed consent to have your image recorded, your Academic Chair or a student can’t force that upon you.
Another issue to consider is the privacy of other students. If a video or audio recording of the class is going to occur, all students should be informed and be given the option to not be part of the recording. If this option is not possible, then an alternative to recording could be found or a student’s general request could be denied.
If you do consent to a recording, a student’s recordings can only be used for their personal study, and using or posting the recording in any other way is a matter of academic misconduct.
Recordings as an Accommodation
Having said all of that, there are some conditions that may apply that alter my previous answer from “no” to “yes”. If the student presents an official accommodation request to record your lectures, that can’t be ignored. However, that does not mean that recording must automatically occur in these situations.
When a student requests an accommodation, they have to enter into a disclosure agreement, so to speak, with SAIT that limits what the student can or can’t do with those recordings. These limitations should protect your personal copyright, but if you feel strongly that any video recording would infringe on your image copyright or violate other students’ rights, contact the Accessibility Services with your concerns. SAIT has a duty to accommodate that student to the point of undue hardship, but that requirement to accommodate falls squarely on the employer’s shoulders rather than on you, the instructor.
For example, if a class or part of a class includes student discussion of personal topics or you feel recording would inhibit open discussion in your class, you can contact the assigned Accessibility Advisor to explain that recording is not a good fit. In those situations, recording is only one of many possible options to accommodate a student, and it is up to the Accessibility Services group (on behalf of SAIT) to do their due diligence to find a “work around” for the student requested accommodation. You can also contact Lenore Norris, Manager for Accessibility Services, if necessary.
Accessibility Services should work with you and the student to develop an alternative accommodation that is appropriate for the learning environment of the course. There may be a few cases where it is decided that recording is the only possible accommodation, and of course in those cases you should then work with the student to meet that need. But often, alternative activities can be arranged.
Good Practice Related to Course Recordings
Here are some general rules of good practice that you, as faculty, should be following:
1. In your course syllabus you should make a general statement for the students at the start of the semester that you DO NOT consent to your image being recorded.
2. As a reminder at the start of every class make a statement (takes 30 seconds or less) that you do not consent to your image being recorded.
3. Also, you can remind students of the academic and non-academic misconduct policies of SAIT and make them read them as part of your syllabus (readily available to both you and your students on SAITNow).
4. Remember that a diagnosis and accommodation is private medical information. If a student has an accommodation (involving recording or any other activity), do not speak about it in front of others.
If you have questions about your rights related to course recordings, don’t hesitate to contact me at the SAFA office. You can also contact the Accessibility Services team with general questions about the process, and of course you can email your copyright questions to SAIT’s Copyright Librarian at [email protected].
In Solidarity,
Blair Howes
SAFA President