UVA Logo
PROV-005: Dissemination and Recording of Course Materials and Activities

Date: 08/24/2020 Status: Final
Last Revised: 11/03/2023
Policy Type: Executive Vice President & Provost
Oversight Executive: Executive Vice President and Provost
Applies To:

Academic Division.

Reason for Policy:

This policy describes the approval processes for and allowable uses of recorded class sessions, as well as the distribution of course materials.

Definition of Terms in Statement:
  • Course Materials:Educational material(s) prepared or provided by the Instructor for use in the delivery of a course including, but not limited to, lecture notes, syllabi, quizzes and exams, problem sets, assignments, and presentations. References to Course Material(s) in this policy refer to both original and duplicate versions. Widely available resources (e.g., published articles) are exempt from this definition.
  • Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs):Graduate students who have instructional assignments in classrooms or laboratories.
  • Instructor:The individual listed in the University’s student information system (SIS) as the instructor for a course (or a discussion section or lab affiliated with a course), not to be confused with the rank of Instructor as defined in policy PROV-029: Faculty Appointment Types and Titles.
  • Recording(s):An audio/visual documentation of a class session (or parts thereof) or related activity. Recordings can include traditional audio and video recordings, still photography, screenshots, and recordings produced by new communications technologies.
  • Student(s):An individual who either has been admitted to a degree or certificate program at the University or has received permission to enroll and is registered for coursework (including credit or non-credit) at the University during any given academic session (including fall or spring semesters, Summer Session, or January Term).
Policy Statement:

Only the Instructor of a course may give permission for a class session to be recorded. Permission to record is not a transfer of copyrights in any Course Material(s). If a class session is recorded for research purposes, additional approval may be required from the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB). Instructors may revoke permission at any time.

When a class session is recorded, anyone present must be notified that recording will occur. Instructors are responsible for providing this notification, regardless of whether they are producing the recording or have given permission to a student to produce a recording. Notification may be provided via a statement on the course syllabus indicating the possibility of class recording(s).

Any Recording or Course Material that visually or audibly identifies a student, or contains sufficient context that may reveal the identity of a student, may only be reproduced for instructional purposes and shared with teaching assistants or students in the same course during the same term, unless otherwise exempted by this policy or explicitly authorized in writing by the student. Such Recordings or Course Materials must be stored on University1 password-protected sites.

Recordings may not be reproduced, exchanged, or distributed for commercial purposes or compensation.

All Recordings made by University faculty and staff are the property of the University. Recordings made by students are owned by students, subject to the Student-Specific Provisions below.

____________
1University owned, managed, or licensed.

  1. Use of Recordings for Instructional Evaluative Purposes:
    Recordings of class sessions may be shared with others at UVA as appropriate for instructional evaluative purposes. If a Recording is to be used for summative evaluation, the Instructor must be notified before the Recording is produced.

    In exceptional circumstances, and at the request of the instructor and school dean, the provost (or designee) may authorize a Recording to be distributed external to the University for the purpose of evaluating Instructor teaching. In reviewing a request, the provost (or designee) will consider whether the evaluation of teaching could be reasonably performed by someone at the University and whether there is a significant risk of bias in the evaluation as a result of the method of evaluation.

    In all cases, the individual sharing the Recording must take reasonable steps to ensure that the Recording is not shared beyond the intended audience. In cases where a Recording visually or audibly identifies a student, or contains sufficient context that may reveal the identity of a student, the Instructor must obtain permission from the affected student, and to the extent possible, the Recording(s) must be stored on a University-managed password protected site.

  2. Student-Specific Provisions:
    In addition to the provisions of the policy statement above, the following apply to all Students, as a condition of receiving Instructor permission to record a class session:

    • Students may only use Recordings for the purpose of individual or group study with other students enrolled in the same class course during the same term.
    • Students may not reproduce Recordings without explicit written permission from the instructor and may not reproduce, exchange, or distribute Recordings for commercial purposes or compensation.
    • Students must destroy Recordings at the end of the term unless they receive the Instructor’s written permission to retain them or are entitled to retain them as an accommodation authorized by the Student Disability Access Center (SDAC).
    • Students must provide a copy of any retained Recordings to the Instructor of the relevant course upon request.
    • Students may not reproduce Course Materials without explicit written permission from the instructor and may not reproduce, exchange, or distribute Course Materials for commercial purposes or compensation.
  3. Accommodations:
    Students entitled to educational accommodations, as determined by the Student Disability Access Center (SDAC), may exercise any rights protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. Dissemination of course materials or production of a Recording in accordance with and/or in support of an approved accommodation do not require additional instructor authorization; their use is limited to the scope of the approved accommodation.

  4. Compliance with Policy:
    Recordings in which a student can be identified may be regulated by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and state privacy laws.

    The unauthorized production of a Recording or dissemination of a Recording and/or Course Material by a student disrupts the University’s learning environment and is therefore a violation of the Standards of Conduct, which could subject a student to disciplinary action.

    The unauthorized production of a Recording or the unauthorized dissemination of a Recording and/or Course Material by an Instructor may result in disciplinary action.

    Questions about this policy should be directed to the Office of the Executive Vice President & Provost.

Procedures:

Instructors or students who believe they may have been recorded in violation of this policy should first seek to resolve the matter directly with the individual responsible. In cases where a dispute concerning an alleged violation cannot be resolved, the individual should contact the department chair or dean’s office of the school offering the course.

Instructors wishing to produce a Recording that visually or audibly identifies a minor, or contains sufficient context that may reveal the identity of a minor, should first consult the UVA Office of Youth Protection.

Major Category:
Executive Vice President & Provost Policies
Next Scheduled Review:
08/22/2026
Approved By, Date:
Executive Vice President & Provost, 08/22/2020
Revision History:
Revised Section 3 11/3/23; Revised 8/22/23.