Loughborough University Teaching Event Capture Policy

1. Strategic Approach

a.    The ReVIEW system is available in all centrally-timetabled and in some School teaching space.

b.    The technical default capture is the recording of audio and material presented on the screen/s. In rooms where video cameras are available,    staff will have the option to request video is recorded.

c.    It is acknowledged that some teaching events are not appropriate for publishing, for example due to the nature of the content, where there are ethical concerns, because unpublished research or commercially sensitive information is divulged, where students have requested that their contributions are not made openly available (although these could be edited out). There may also be some teaching events that it is not appropriate to record.

d.    Some types of teaching events (for instance, with periods of group discussion) may be suitable for publishing if the recordings are edited or the recording is paused in the room.

e.    Staff are able to manage the recording process by pausing the recording, for example to facilitate discussion or when requested to avoid capturing student input, and by editing the recording prior to publishing.

f.    Teaching events will be set to be recorded automatically, however staff are able to manage their consent to the recording process, release and subsequent editing (refer to 1b-e & 2b).

g.    If staff do not give consent for their recordings to be published, or recorded, the member of staff’s decision and reason for this will be captured in the on-line system and their AD(T) or nominee notified towards the end of each semester. Staff whose sessions are excluded from publication, or not recorded, will be expected to communicate the decision made to their students and ensure that this is provided on Learn. See also Section 3, Special Circumstances (in particular 3a), which enables publishing to certain individual students.

h.    Staff give consent to the recording through the on-line system, and are able to specify the timing of its release. Recorded teaching events will normally be published to the students 24 hours after an event has ended, unless clause 1g applies, or the member of staff selects the option to release recordings at a later specified date. Staff may subsequently withdraw their consent to the storage and release of the captured content.

i.    Access to teaching events is not a substitute for attendance, except in the case of distance learners and some students with specific disabilities (e.g. certain long term medical and mental health conditions).

j.    ReVIEW will not be used by the University to replace student contact time for campus-based students. The service is provided to supplement contact time.

k.    The University will continue to monitor and evaluate the use of ReVIEW with both students and staff to ensure that it enhances the student learning experience and improves access.

l.    The University will continue to develop the service so that it supports a variety of teaching styles and events.

m.    In addition to ReVIEW hardware in teaching rooms, the University will support the use of ReVIEW software on staff and student laptops, desktops and mobile devices. These tools are particularly suitable for staff exploring a ‘flipped classroom’ approach to teaching and can also be made available to students to record, edit, submit and publish any video assignment activity.

2. Intellectual Property Rights

a.    Copyright in teaching events normally belongs to the University (except where they have been delivered by an external guest lecturer). If a guest lecturer teaches on a module where ReVIEW is being used, it is the responsibility of the Module Leader to check with the guest lecturer whether s/he is happy to be recorded and obtain consent via the use of the University’s form.

b.    Individual staff retain performance rights in teaching events. This means that anyone can ask for a teaching event not to be published or recorded in accordance with clause 1.g. at any time, albeit clause 3.a enables publishing to certain individual students where recordings exist.

c.    Captured teaching events will not be used for performance management purposes unless staff choose to use material themselves.

d.    The University will support staff in ensuring that teaching events do not infringe third party copyright.

e.    Signs will be affixed to all teaching rooms where the ReVIEW service is available advising students that teaching events are being recorded. In addition a light on the lectern will indicate when a recording is taking place. The light will also change colour to indicate that a recording has been paused.

f.    It is the responsibility of the module tutor to advise students that if they sit near the front of the teaching room and ask a question, their voice may be audible in the recording. ReVIEW guidance for students will also explain this. If this message has been stated clearly, students who subsequently ask questions may be deemed to have consented to being recorded.

g.    Published recordings should be treated as ‘Confidential’ data under the University’s Information Sharing Policy and therefore must not be shared externally or with non- authorised individuals without express permission.

3.   Special Circumstances

a.    Access to academic content in ReVIEW for students with disabilities, long term conditions or specific learning difficulties is determined on a case-by-case basis by the CDS (Counselling and Disability Service) and applies to any recording, even where an individual has opted out of publication. Where no recording exists, staff are required to produce an alternative reasonable adjustment for these students.

b.    Staff are strongly encouraged to consent to publishing their recordings when a request to this effect has been received from:
 
i.    a School or Department on behalf of a student that has mitigating circumstances meaning they are unable to attend some teaching events;
ii.    from CDS on behalf of students who are temporarily unable to attend due to an injury for example;
iii.    the Sports Development Centre on behalf of an elite athlete away from campus at a training camp or competition;
iv.    another School or Department on behalf of students on joint/combined programmes who may be away from campus on fieldwork or otherwise likely to miss teaching sessions related to one subject due to commitments in the other subject.

c.    In all cases, staff are strongly encouraged to make the recordings available to all students not just the individual/s concerned unless there are compelling reasons not to do so.

4. Technical Support

a.    A comprehensive support service will be available to staff using ReVIEW, with training available from staff in Teaching Support and the Centre for Academic Practice.. A FAQ guide and other online material to share best practice are also available.

b.    By default, recordings will be automatically published to the appropriate module page on Learn, and thus are only available to students, Tutors and Additional Tutors registered on the module who can view the content on-line. This has the benefits of providing students with a visually consistent access point to recorded teaching events across all their modules, and provides module tutors with detailed usage information. Recordings will normally appear on Learn 24 hours after the end of the teaching event. Staff may use this delay to review the recording first before it is published.

c.    By default, recordings will be securely stored on the system for up to 7 years, to cover the majority of students completion of studies plus one year, which is standard for a number of areas of the student’s academic record. At the end of this period they will be safely deleted if no request has been received to retain the recording. Where staff need recordings to be edited, this may be done by staff themselves and training will be provided. Where there is an educational need to change the timing of the publication of recordings this can be requested through the on-line system.

d.    By default, recordings will only be published to students on the module with which they are associated.

e.    The University will continue to develop and improve the service for the benefit of both academic staff and students.

f.    By default, ReVIEW hardware installations will be built into all new or refurbished University teaching rooms.

g.    ReVIEW support staff will provide service users with clear information relating to any periods of maintenance / downtime.

Please note: The system can also be used to capture outreach activity, public lectures, research seminars and events by request to review@lboro.ac.uk, with various options available for the publication of these recordings.

June 2020