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Recording of Extension Courses and Use of Smart Phones - AA111

Last Reviewed: March 2015

Intent

Recordings can serve the interests of the learning community by providing students with a convenient study aid or with evidence of accomplishment before the camera. Recordings can provide instructors with feedback on the effectiveness of their presentation. However, recording and other communication devices can also be sources of distraction that interfere with the learning process; and if misused can facilitate academic dishonesty or the theft of intellectual property

UCLA Extension programs may not be recorded or reproduced in any medium for either non-commercial or commercial public distribution without the prior explicit permission of the Dean of UCLA Extension. The purpose of this policy is to identify those to whom authority has been delegated to grant permission for recording when there is no public distribution, and to ensure that when approved, the act of recording does not interfere with the learning process.

Selling, preparing or distributing lecture notes or video or audio recordings of any UCLA Extension course for any public distribution is prohibited.

Delegations

The University of California holds that recordings of a course that capture the sounds and images of a presentation, in any medium, must consider not only the rights of the instructor and the University, but also those of other parties. Examples include the privacy rights of students enrolled in the course, the rights of guest lecturers, and the copyright interests in materials authored by others that are displayed or presented during the course presentation. To ensure compliance, UCLA Extension delegates permissions, and enables and proscribes as follows:

  • Audio and Video recording for Personal Use by Students. Instructors
    may elect to permit students to make audio or video recordings of class lectures for students’ personal use as a study aid, provided the process is unobtrusive. The recording of a guest lecturer will be subject to the permission of the guest lecturer. When recordings are permitted, enrolled students may provide a copy of their recordings to other currently enrolled students for individual or group study. To limit exposure to and to protect students from theft of intellectual property, instructors will not permit recording in class when students are presenting creative work that is subject to students’ copyright.
  • Audio and video recording for Personal Use by Instructors. Program Directors/CEs
    may permit instructors to make audio or video recordings of themselves at lecture to improve their delivery skills and for their exclusive and personal use provided the process does not interfere with instruction. The permission need not be in writing. Instructors will not record when students are presenting creative work that is subject to students’ copyright.
  • Audio and video recording with Instructional Purpose. Program Directors/CEs
    may permit instructors to make recordings of students, for playback to students, as an instructional exercise provided such recordings are related to the course discipline (such as acting or public speaking), students are informed of the exercise via the course description or syllabus, and the students are provided an opportunity to capture and save recordings of their work for their personal use. Recordings made to fulfill an instructional exercise will only be used within the context of the course and will not be shared publicly without the explicit written permission of the student and any other person(s) appearing in the recording.
  • Audio and Video recording for Promotion.
    The Executive Director of Marketing and her/his delegates may authorize and coordinate recording of classroom sessions for promotional use, provided the program director and instructor approve, notice of the recording session is provided in advance to all participants, the learning process remains largely unaffected, releases are properly obtained from active participants, and students are provided an opportunity to opt out.
  • Audio and Video recording as an ADA accommodation
    Recordings may be mandated by the Director of Student Services or his/her delegates in Extension’s Office for Students with Disabilities when to do so will provide a disabled student with an academic accommodation required by law. Representatives of that office will inform the instructor if recording is mandated. If recording is not otherwise permitted by the instructor for other students, the accommodated student may be obliged to sign a written nondisclosure agreement.
     

Equipment Use Guidelines

Since the invention of pocket-sized portable audio-recording devices, instructors have welcomed their use by students with the understanding that the recordings are for their personal use as study aids. It is now common for cell phones and tablet computers to serve as recording devices. When recording and playback devices are permitted, the following guidelines will be followed:

  • As a matter of courtesy, students and instructors are expected to silence audible alarms and ringtones of cellphones, tablets and pagers at the beginning of each class
  • Cellphones must be out of sight and put away during exams. Students may be challenged by instructors or proctors if cell phones or other specifically disallowed devices (such as graphing calculators) are visible during exams. Students’ cell phones or calculators, if misused, are not subject to seizure, however an offending student can be asked to leave the exam room if notice or a verbal reminder regarding inappropriate use has been ignored.

Notices

Information on recording of programs that applies to students will be carried in the General Information section of the UCLA Extension Catalog and the Student Resources section of the web.

  • Audio and video recording of courses to create a personal study aid may be permitted by your instructor with the understanding that the process will not be distracting, commercial exploitation and public distribution by any means is prohibited, and the privacy of other students will be respected. Recording may be required by the UCLA Extension Director of Student Services to accommodate a disability in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
  • Be courteous. We ask all students to silence cell phones, tablets and pagers prior to the beginning of each class.

Information on rights and privileges regarding recording that applies to instructors will be presented in UCLA Extension’s Instructor’s Guide.

References and Listing

This policy will be publicly listed. Questions and comments are welcomed by the Director of Student Services, UCLA Extension, (310) 825-7031; Registrar@uclaextension.edu.

See also: