Instructor recording of class sessions
Instructors are encouraged to consider recording classes, if appropriate for the class format and subject matter, to support student learning by making recordings available for review after the class session or for other academic reasons.
Student recording of class sessions
Instructor permission is required before any portion of a class session may be recorded by a student, except that, as described below, some students may receive accommodations from Accessibility and Disability Service (ADS) allowing them to record classes. For the purposes of this guidance, sending video and/or audio of a class session to an AI summarization tool, or for processing by a wearable AI technology, is considered recording even if only the summary is made available.
Instructors should announce their course policies related to student recordings of class sessions in the syllabus and at the beginning of each semester. Sample syllabus statements are provided below. If instructors prohibit recording, they should include a statement in the syllabus regarding the prohibition. The prohibition should advise students that, notwithstanding a general prohibition on recording, the class may nonetheless be recorded for academic reasons by the instructor or students with special permission to do so. TA-led sections should follow the course-level policy, or be explicitly identified as having a different recording policy by the lead instructor.
In the absence of an announced course policy permitting recordings, students may not record classes without specific consent from the instructor or via a communicated accommodation.
Instructors who have concerns about the effect of having classes recorded as part of an approved accommodation plan should interact directly with ADS, pursuant to its procedures. Instructors must comply with the terms of an approved accommodation plan during the pendency of any review of the plan. The contents of any allowed recordings are for students’ approved use in connection with the course only, and may not be, in whole or in part, distributed, published, uploaded, or otherwise transmitted or copied to any user, site, server, etc., except as expressly permitted by the approved accommodation plan or by the instructor. Students should delete any recordings at the end of the course.
Students who record a class without permission or in violation of a class policy prohibiting it may be subject to discipline for a student conduct violation and potentially charged with theft; failure to comply with university directives; or violation of published university regulations. Students who knowingly share a recording, or parts of a recording, with a third party, without permission, may be committing an additional conduct offense.
If an instructor learns that a class recording has been published in violation of the recording prohibition, they should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUGS) or Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) or equivalent in the unit in which the course is offered to determine appropriate steps, including but not limited to potential referral of the offending students to the Office of Student Conduct, informing the class of the unauthorized publishing, and/or consulting with the Division of Information Technology.
Sample syllabus statements:
Permitting recording
“Class meetings [or some class meetings] in this course will be recorded and the recordings will be made available to enrolled students as a study aid. Students should be aware that their voices and faces may be recorded. Recordings are for students’ individual and personal use only. Please respect the work instructors have put into developing course materials and do not share these materials beyond their intended audience. The contents of any recordings may not be shared, distributed, published, uploaded, or otherwise transmitted or copied to any user, site, server, etc., in which it is reasonably foreseeable that the contents, in whole or in part, will be available to others. Students who knowingly share a recording, or parts of a recording, with a third party, without permission, may be subject to discipline as a student conduct violation and potentially charged with theft; failure to comply with university directives; or violation of published university regulations.”
Prohibiting recording
“Recordings are prohibited in this class. It is important that class participants can speak freely as they learn and grapple with the material. Please respect the privacy of your peers and the instructor. Notwithstanding the foregoing general prohibition on recording, students are advised that the class may nonetheless be recorded for academic reasons by the faculty member (for example, as a teaching improvement technique) or students with special permission to do so (for example, as part of an approved accommodation plan). If a student has been granted permission to record, any recordings are for the student’s individual and personal academic use only, pursuant to the terms of the specific approval granted to the student. The contents of any recordings may not be shared, distributed, published, uploaded, or otherwise transmitted or copied to any user, site, server, etc., in which it is reasonably foreseeable that the contents, in whole or in part, will be available to others. Students who record a class without permission may be subject to discipline as a student conduct violation and potentially charged with theft; failure to comply with university directives; or violation of published university regulations. Students who knowingly share a recording, or parts of a recording, with a third party, without permission, may be committing an additional conduct offense.”