St. Cloud State University Policies & Procedures

To improve student learning and retention while respecting the intellectual property and privacy rights of faculty and students. 

Application 

This policy applies to all faculty members who voluntarily agree to record their classroom lectures at St. Cloud State University and students accessing, participating in, or making an authorized recording of a classroom lecture. 

Background 

This policy manages classroom lecture recordings in a similar manner as course materials developed by faculty members. Pursuant to Board Policy 3.26 Intellectual Property, faculty members typically own their scholarly work, which includes the course materials they develop. This policy also seeks to preserve a balance of intellectual property and privacy rights of the faculty member, the privacy rights of the students present in the classroom, and the educational goals of St. Cloud State University.

Definitions 

Classroom Lecture: A classroom lecture provided by a faculty member in his or her role as an instructor in a classroom or classroom-type setting as part of a course with enrolled students. 

Public Lecture: A lecture open to the public where the speaker presents in his or her professional capacity as a scholar or expert, rather than as an instructor as part of a course. 

Recording: The capturing of any part or the entire amount of a classroom lecture, including the audio, video, or pictorial portions of the lecture. 

Student Participation: Students will be deemed “participating” in a classroom lecture if their image or voice is captured in the recording.

Recording Classroom Lectures 

Faculty members may voluntarily make audio and/or video recordings of classroom lectures for instructional purposes related to their courses at St. Cloud State University. Students are not permitted to record classroom lectures using personal recording devices (e.g. iPod, iPad, video/camera phone, digital recorder, etc.) unless permission is obtained from the faculty member and there are no objections from any students present in the class. Permission to record a classroom lecture that a faculty member grants to a student is limited to the student’s own personal use to achieve the educational goals of the course. 

If a student receives permission from a faculty member to record a lecture using equipment not provided by St. Cloud State University and there are no objections from the students in the class; the student agrees not to transfer the recording to a computer, the internet, or other electronic device, or distribute the recording or a derivative work of the recording to any other person, or use the recording for any purpose other than the student’s own personal education unless written permission is obtained from the faculty member and the students participating in the recording. Unauthorized downloading, file sharing, or distribution of all or any portion of a recorded classroom lecture may be deemed a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and other applicable policies and laws. 

Students may record a classroom lecture in certain classes as part of an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Faculty may ban all recordings in classes that are part of a program where students sign a confidentiality agreement (Nursing/Mortuary), students in early childhood programs where specific children are discussed by name, and classes where students openly discuss specific examples of abuse they have encountered during their lifetime. When permission is granted, it must be coordinated among St. Cloud State University, the faculty member, and the student. 

Use of the Video or Audio Recording 

A recorded classroom lecture may not be used for any purpose except to meet the educational objectives of that particular class. 

A faculty member’s audio and/or video recordings of his/her lectures that include student participation may only be used by St. Cloud State University students for their personal educational benefit. The faculty member shall control how the recorded lecture is used at St. Cloud State University. For example, what classes may use it, the retention period, other faculty who can access it, etc. 

Audio and video recordings of faculty lectures that DO NOT include student participation may be used by the faculty member in the same manner as other course materials owned by the faculty member.  The faculty member has the freedom to control their recorded lecture, to delete it after the semester, or preserve it for future use. Recorded lectures will be automatically deleted if a faculty member leaves St. Cloud State University, unless the faculty member provides written permission to St. Cloud State University for the continued non-profit educational use of the recorded lecture. 

Additional Uses 

Use of a recorded lecture that INCLUDES student participation may not be used, shown, or distributed to any other individual, group or organization without the expressed written permission of the faculty member, every student who is recognizable in the audio/video recording, and St. Cloud State University. All requests for use of a recorded lecture involving only the faculty member shall be handled by the faculty member.