Recording Class Sessions and Events

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Recording of Class Sessions

This policy describes certain rights and obligations of students, instructors, and academic programs in recording class sessions. In the context of this policy, class sessions include:

  • Scheduled meetings of a course, regardless of modality, between a course instructor and the students in that course.

In the context of this policy, class sessions do not include:

  • Pre-recorded lectures or other course content that an instructor has created outside of a particular class meeting (e.g., as part of their reusable course materials).
  • Public artistic presentations or performances (or rehearsals for the same).

Instructors or academic programs may establish policies for the acceptable use of pre-recorded lectures or other instructor-created course content, or for the creation or use of recordings of public artistic presentations or performances (or rehearsals for the same), on a course-by-course or program-by-program basis. Instructors and programs bear responsibility for promulgating any individualized policies they may establish (e.g., via inclusion in course syllabi, by publication on academic program websites or in relevant portions of the academic catalog, or by other conspicuous means).

Recording of Class Sessions by Students

With the exceptions noted below for students with approved accommodations issued through the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD), the following general policies apply to the recording of class sessions by students:

  1. Students may make audio or video recordings of class sessions only with the explicit prior knowledge and affirmative consent of the instructor.
  2. Audio or video recordings that will or that are likely to include personally identifiable information about or contributions from other students may be made only with the explicit prior knowledge and affirmative consent of the students involved.
  3. Unless established otherwise by the instructor or academic program, audio or video recordings of class sessions—when permitted—may be made for personal educational use only. Any recorded material (including lectures, audiovisual materials, discussions, etc.) remains the intellectual property of the individual(s) who originate that material.
  4. Unless established otherwise by the instructor or academic program, audio or video recordings of class sessions—when permitted—may be retained only through the official end date of the corresponding academic term (typically the last day of the final exam period, as indicated on the university academic calendar).
  5. Instructors and academic programs may establish more detailed policies around the creation, use, and retention of recordings of class sessions on a course-by-course or a program-by-program basis.
  6. These policies apply to all classes regardless of modality (in-person, online, hybrid, etc.). Failure to adhere to these policies, or those as may be established by an instructor or academic program, or other misuse of recordings or the content contained therein, may constitute a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy and/or the Code of Student Responsibility. Any such violation of the Academic Integrity Policy or the Code of Student Responsibility may be reported, and sanctions imposed, through the relevant established process.
  7. Audio or video recordings may not be created or distributed in a manner contrary to local, state, or federal law.

Exceptions for students with approved recording accommodations issued through the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD):

  1. Students may make audio or video recordings of class sessions only with the explicit prior knowledge of the instructor. Students with an approved recording accommodation issued through the CSD should consult directly with the instructor if recording is to occur; merely providing the instructor with a list of all approved accommodations at the start of the term (e.g., via Campus Connect) shall not constitute adequate notification on this issue.
  2. In general, audio or video recordings of class sessions should be made only with the affirmative consent of the instructor. If an instructor objects to the creation of audio or video recordings of class sessions, the student, the instructor, and the CSD should consult on whether an alternative aid or service could effectively meet the student’s needs. Audio or video recordings of class sessions may be made over an instructor’s objection only if no other reasonable accommodation is available or practical, and if the prohibition of audio or video recordings would thus have the effect of limiting the participation of the student in the education program or activity.
  3. Students with an approved recording accommodation issued through the CSD are not required to provide prior notice or to obtain prior consent from the other students in the class before recording class sessions.
  4. To the extent that they do not conflict with the preceding three items, the general policies on the recording of class sessions by students also apply to students with approved accommodations through the CSD.

Recording of Class Sessions by Instructors or Academic Programs

Class sessions may be recorded by individual instructors, or by academic programs as part of the regular delivery of hybrid or online courses within that program.

  1. Students must be notified prior to the recording of any class session. This notification may be made via an automated voice announcement and/or pop-up window (for sessions recorded via Zoom or via other conferencing software), via signage posted in a classroom, or by other means.
  2. Instructors may pause the recording of a class session if the session begins to include or is likely to include sensitive student input. Students may request that the recording of a class session be paused before they share sensitive information.
  3. The preceding item may not apply to class session recordings that are automatically generated or facilitated by university systems (such as Course Online in CDM) as part of the regular delivery of hybrid or online courses. These recordings may be considered an integral component of course delivery rather than discretionary recordings, and thus the pausing of recordings may not be possible.
  4. Students must be notified if recordings will be retained for more than 120 days beyond the initial date of recording. [Note: As of the date of the writing of this policy, the default retention period for cloud recordings as set by Information Services is 120 days, after which cloud recordings are automatically deleted.]
  5. Students must be notified if class session recordings will be made or retained for research or evaluation purposes. Class sessions may be recorded for research purposes only after the instructor has obtained all appropriate and applicable institutional approvals (e.g., IRB), including, when applicable, informed consent from the students being recorded.
  6. The notifications required under the preceding items may be delivered via the course syllabus, via an academic program website (e.g., for policies that are set at the program level), or via some other appropriate and conspicuous means.
  7. Recordings of class sessions may not be distributed or reused in a manner contrary to FERPA guidelines or other federal, state, or local laws.
  8. Research, scholarship, or creative activity by faculty, including work that may be captured by recordings of class sessions, is protected by and subject to the DePaul University Discovery and Copyright Policy.