Student Video Privacy Rights

Considerations

Instructors must provide the same level of privacy for students during virtual instruction as provided in person. Important considerations include:

• Instructors must inform all participants in their class that it will be recorded.
• Instructors must offer appropriate accommodations to participants who choose not to be recorded.
• Students who do not want their likeness or image included in the recording (that will be made and available for classmates to view) must let their instructor know and may elect not to participate via video recording.
• Students have a right to NOT have their comments disclosed to others who are unconnected with the class, but instructors and classmates may listen to comments without violating FERPA.
• Instructors and students enrolled in the class are the only persons who should have access to recorded class sessions.

Recommended Meeting Settings

To ensure FERPA compliance, here are some recommended Meeting Host settings/features commonly available across most video conferencing tools:

• Send meeting invitations directly to participants; do not post on a website.
• Approximately 5 minutes prior to the session start time, turn ON the “waiting room” feature where the FERPA disclaimer can be presented.
• Turn OFF participants’ ability to record sessions.
• Turn ON and “set a password” for all sessions/classes/recordings.
• Turn OFF “private chat.”
• Turn ON ability to “mute individual participants” and “mute all.”
• Turn OFF ability for participants to “save chat.”

Sample Language to Communicate Privacy Rights to Students

The following is a template for instructors to use (include this text in the “waiting room” of a virtual meeting):

Any time that a class session is recorded, students will be notified. If students do not want their likeness during class participation included in the recorded class session, they may elect to not participate via video recordings. Recordings will be made available subject to the following conditions:

• • Only students enrolled in the class may view the recording.
  • Students may not post or use the recordings in any other setting (e.g., social media) for any purpose. Students who violate this will be subject to student discipline, up to and including expulsion.
  • Federal and California law as well as University policies protecting intellectual property rights and use of instructional materials (including any recordings of class sessions) remain in effect.
  • If faculty have any plan to use the recording for a different class in the future, the faculty member will need written FERPA consent from those students in the current class who are identifiable in any of the recordings. A FERPA consent form signed by all students in the course will also be needed if the recordings are made available to others beyond the classroom on a nonsecure digital platform.

*This content was adapted from CSU Long Beach’s Lecture Recording website.

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