Academic Policy

Rationale:

Our strong commitment to students’ academic success includes the assurance that classrooms are spaces where faculty and students confidently engage in the free exchange of ideas about a diverse array of topics, including controversial issues that are marked by strongly held differences of opinion. The increased use of instructional technologies in recent years has enhanced student access to classroom spaces, but it has also put new pressure on universities to determine where to draw the line between, on the one hand, the beneficial uses of technology and, on the other, practices that threaten the ability of students and faculty to see the classroom as a space where they can safely express viewpoints with which others may disagree.

Many universities have sought to achieve this goal by developing policies that provide guidelines for the appropriate use of classroom recordings. While students should be allowed and encouraged to share concerns about classroom discussions with faculty members, university administrators, parents, and trusted friends, the potential for direct sharing of conversations that take place in the classroom via recording risks violating the privacy of instructors and students. It also undermines a critical value of university life: the establishment of learning environments in which all participants can explore ideas, engage thoughtfully with diverse perspectives, and share ideas with the assurance that their statements will be treated respectfully and will not be shared with others outside the classroom context.

The policy below seeks to strike a balance by maintaining the benefits available to faculty and students through the strategic use of classroom recordings while aligning with many of our peer institutions who have adopted policies to prohibit or limit the recording of class sessions to protect the privacy of faculty and students.

Suggested policy:

Instructors - defined here as all full-time and part-time faculty, as well as graduate students and staff acting as instructors of record - and students and learners in all Syracuse University classes, both in-person and online, are responsible for working together to cultivate an intellectual community in which all participants can explore varied perspectives, engage thoughtfully with diverse viewpoints, and share ideas freely with the assurance that their statements will be treated respectfully and will not be shared with others outside the classroom context. While class recordings can have a valuable pedagogical function, the use of such recordings must be carefully guided in order to protect the privacy of all participants in the class and to support the free exchange of ideas between instructors and students that is central to the vitality of any academic environment.

Instructors: Instructors who intend to record classes for pedagogical purposes must notify students in the syllabus and remind them verbally at the beginning of any recorded class session. In the case of online classes that are always recorded, instructors should notify students about this practice of recording classes in the syllabus and on the first day of class. With the exception of online courses in which recording classes is standard practice, a student can opt out of being recorded during class by informing the faculty member in writing about their desire not to be recorded.

Instructors may not share recorded class sessions with any external audiences without written permission from all students enrolled in the class. The exception are those online programs that routinely use recorded class sessions from prior semesters for internal training purposes.

Students: Students who have educational reasons for recording classes must first request permission from the instructor and must agree that recordings or class transcripts will not be shared with others. If there is a compelling reason to share any classroom recording with any audience outside the class, students must first have written permission from the instructor and, if the recording includes student images and/or discussion, all students in the class. Publishing recorded class sessions or transcripts on social media or through any platform for wider public distribution is strictly prohibited. Violators of this policy are subject to referral to the University Conduct system. Requests to record for disability accommodations should be made to the Center for Disability Resources. Since accommodations may require early planning and are not provided retroactively, students should contact the Center for Disability Resources regarding accommodation needs as soon as possible.