Introduction
This Muhlenberg College Class Recording Policy establishes parameters for audio and/or visual recordings of classes in order to protect the rights of students and faculty and their intellectual property and to ensure compliance with federal laws concerning approved accommodations for students with documented disabilities. This Policy is designed to:
- protect student’s and faculty’s dignity and privacy;
- respect the integrity and effectiveness of the classroom experience; and
- comply with disability, intellectual property and other pertinent laws.
Every class syllabus shall contain the following statement: “By registering for or attending Muhlenberg College courses, individuals consent to the recording of classes and the use of such recordings within the scope of the Muhlenberg College Class Recording Policy .
I. Definitions
College: Muhlenberg College.
Class: A class is defined as a regularly scheduled time(s) when students meet with a course instructor or guest presenter for instruction, learning, and/or assessment and private course-related consultations such as those that might take place outside class instruction or after class has been dismissed.
Course Instructor: Any full-time or part-time faculty member of the College.
Course Materials: Lectures, lecture notes, outlines, slides, PowerPoint presentations, readings, or other content made available to students by the instructor or guest presenter via the LMS (Learning Management System), in-class handouts, or other means.
Recording: A video or audio replication or photographic image recorded using Zoom, Teams or similar services or on devices including, but not limited to audio recorders, video recorders, mobile phones, digital cameras, media players, computers, Smart Pens, and other computer or handheld devices that record images and/or sound.
II. Policy
A. Initiation of Class Recordings
Students may only make recordings of a class when expressly authorized by: (1) the course instructor, or (2) the College’s Director of Disability Services in the case of an approved 2
accommodation for a documented disability.[1] Course instructors may elect to make recordings of a class subject to the requirements set forth below.
In regard to (1) above: a course instructor may give permission to an entire class as part of the course syllabus or, alternatively, may grant permission to select individuals (including proxy recordings); and the course instructor may rescind previously granted permission to record a class at any point during the course, provided that doing so does not compromise an approved accommodation.
In regard to (2) above, the accommodation plan must be provided in advance to the course instructor and the plan must include, but is not limited to, start and end date of class recordings, method of recording, method of dissemination of recording, and length of access to recording. In the event that an accommodation plan is provided on short notice, the course instructor, the College's Director of Disability Services and the student shall cooperate to implement the accommodation plan within a reasonable amount of time.
In regard to class recordings made at the election of the course instructor, the course instructor may retain and use such class recordings in future classes taught by such course instructor. Course instructors may also retain and use such class recordings for other purposes on the condition that all identifying student audio and images are edited out of such class recordings unless the affected students have provided written approval for such use.
Permission to allow class recording is not a transfer of any copyrights in the recording or related course materials. Materials contained within the class recordings, including but not limited to videos and other web-based media, may also have their own copyright protection for which there may be separate prohibitions under the law against dissemination.
Course instructors must comply with federal and state laws and College policies regarding approved accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
B. Access to Class Recordings
Access to class recordings authorized by the course instructor is restricted to the student or students in the recorded class who have been given permission by the course instructor to access such recordings.
Access to class recordings authorized by the College’s Director of Disability Services in the case of an approved accommodation for a documented disability is restricted to the student who was granted the accommodation.
All class recordings other than class recordings made by an individual student for use by such student, must be hosted on Panopto, the College’s secure video management system. 3
C. Dissemination of Class Recordings
Class recordings authorized by the course instructor or the College’s Director of Disability Services may not be reproduced, transferred, distributed, or displayed in any manner other than as expressly permitted by this Policy. Students may not share recordings of a class in any way with anyone. This includes, but is not limited to:
- sharing recordings with other students;
- sharing recordings with parents or guardians;
- sharing recordings with friends;
- sharing recordings through social media;
- posting recordings online;
- editing or modifying recordings
- emailing recordings to anyone; and/or
- retaining downloaded recordings after such recordings are to be destroyed as set forthbelow.
D. Deletion of Class Recordings
The content of any class, including course materials created by the course instructor, is the intellectual property of that course instructor. As such, any class recordings authorized by the course instructor or the College’s Director of Disability Services must be deleted one week after the final grade is posted for the class, unless the student has received written permission from the course instructor to retain them or is entitled to retain them as an approved accommodation.
Any class recording made at the election of the course instructor may be deleted by the course instructor at any time after the recording has been used for its intended purpose and doing so does not compromise an approved accommodation.
E. Consequences of Policy Violations
Violation of this Policy may subject a student to disciplinary action under the College’s Student Code of Conduct and/or Academic Integrity Code, including but not limited to probation, suspension or expulsion and/or receiving a failing grade for the class. In addition, unauthorized distribution of class recordings or other course materials may constitute copyright infringement in violation of federal or state law.
Violation of this Policy by a course instructor may subject the instructor to disciplinary action under Section 4.1.1 Code of Ethics and Section 4.1.3 Ethical Violations of the Faculty Handbook.
[1] Information about the College’s disability services and how to request an accommodation for a documented disability can be found at .
