Audio and/or Visual Recordings of Classes

Some of our faculty members have approached the union over concerns that students have requested audio and/or visual recordings of faculty classes in order to meet an accommodation.

The union raised the concerns with management that faculty have about students recording lectures and classes generally citing privacy concerns and potential misuse of the recording in social media.

Durham College management confirmed the following:

A faculty member’s permission must be sought by the student wishing to record and then given by the faculty member before a student may record any portion of the class or lecture. A student therefore cannot record without the faculty member’s agreement.;
All other students in the class who may form part or all of the recording should likewise be asked for their permission for any such audio of visual recording. In the absence of all class members consenting, there cannot be a recording.;
A faculty member may decide that a different accommodation in place of an audio or visual recording is more appropriate such as a note taker or copies of class notes provided either before or after the class or lecture. It is the faculty member’s discretion to determine which accommodation meets the needs of the student within the academic requirements of the course. Audio and/or visual recordings may be a suggested accommodation but faculty is not required to provide that accommodation when another accommodation is available that meets the needs of a particular student.;

There may be many valid reasons why a faculty member does not want to consent to an audio or visual recording by a student. For example, once the recording is made the faculty member has no control over the recording including whether revisions are made to it and with whom it is shared or if and where it is posted online. If a portion of the recording is edited or taken out of context and posted on social media the faculty member’s reputation may be harmed without any real recourse by the faculty member.

Please contact your union stewards or drop by the union office if you have any questions or concerns about audio and/or visual recordings