Recording of Taught Content Policy

1.1

The purpose of this policy is to set clear expectations for Swansea University staff and students for the capturing of the taught content to support activities undertaken during in-person teaching and learning sessions. This policy provides a framework to manage the complexities involved in capturing/recording such content, considering relevant pedagogical, legal, accessibility, intellectual property, and data protection aspects, in compliance with the DLP Minimum Standards Policy. Swansea University is also committed to meeting its legal duties under the Equality Act 2010, By embedding inclusive practices such as accessible recordings into teaching delivery, Swansea ensures that disabled students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage and have equitable opportunities to succeed.

1.2

Additionally, the aim of this policy is to clarify the expectation that students will attend in-person teaching sessions (unless prevented from doing so by valid extenuating circumstances). The captured taught content including lecture recordings, will be used as an addition to those sessions, to enable revisiting of the teaching material, and not as a replacement.  

Educational benefits to recording learning and teaching activities provide a useful and accessible resource for students that can be used in the following ways, amongst many others:

• Provides a summary aid for review, reflection and revision.
• Enhances and can offer clarification around any notes, thoughts or gestalt moments experienced in the live sessions.
• Assists students whose first language is not English.
• Supports students who are unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances such as illness or caring responsibilities.
• Assists students who have particular educational support needs and who may require adjustments in order to be able to engage effectively.

The University recognises and acknowledges that:

• Not all learning activities are suitable for recording, e.g. supported practice and application activities, which include but are not limited to:
  • Lab sessions
  • Practical workshops
  • Seminars

• Ethical issues, or the use of sensitive material may mean that the recording of a particular session is inappropriate, and other arrangements should be made to capture the session for the purposes of accessibility.

2.2

The University will provide staff with audio-visual solutions and supported products that can be used to make recordings of taught content.

2.3

Students may make their own audio recordings of teaching and learning activities and are advised to familiarise themselves with expectations around responsible recording (see 4.3.1).

Students with disabilities may have specific adjustments or support in place to record teaching and learning environments. Eligible students may have access to a human note-taker through Disabled Students Allowance but only under specific conditions. Current arrangements for disabled students in relation to learning activity recording will be unaffected by this policy. Please see also Reasonable Adjustment Policy for Learning and Assessment - Swansea University.

 3.1

 This policy distinguishes between:

• Taught content: Where the teaching staff deliver new information or worked examples.
• Supported practice and application: Where students apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired to solve problems and discuss interpretations, or a similar practical activity such as lab based practical working.

3.2

Block teaching sessions i.e. lectures, tutorials and other forms of teaching that are provided in an intensive block (please see Learning and Teaching Terms and Definitions for Different Modes of Delivery).

This policy applies to the teaching and learning activity and the taught content aspects of, rather than the entirety of a timetabled session, which might include both taught content and application activities.

3.3

The taught content recording is understood as audio, video and multi-modal capture of taught sessions including:

• On-campus activities (synchronous and asynchronous) recorded using the University’s lecture recording system;
• Pre-recorded material (e.g. podcasts);
• Sessions delivered on-line in real time; and
• Any other recordings and associated materials (such as transcripts of recordings).

3.4

A suitable alternative may take various forms but is in principle equivalent to the teaching session and covers the same taught content. The examples include but are not limited to:

• A pre-recorded version of the material;
• A detailed written summary of the main points covered;
• A collaborative document that records student work during scheduled classes.

4.1 General Expectations

4.1.1

Swansea University expects staff, students and external contributors to comply with all applicable UK & European copyright legislation. Staff must ensure they have the copyright clearance for any material covered within the recording. Further advice is available via openaccess@swansea.ac.uk and guidance can be found at http://libguides.swansea.ac.uk/copyright 

4.1.2

• The taught content will normally be recorded (subject to the exceptions listed in 2.1) and provided on the University's Digital Learning Platform.

4.1.3

Supported practice and application will normally not be recorded because these active learning exercises rely on students engaging with the material. Viewing a recording of such activities is not equivalent to attempting the tasks. In these cases, necessary information to allow students to complete tasks in their own time will be provided, where practicable.

4.2 Expectations for Staff

4.2.1

Swansea University expects all staff to provide students with taught content recording for ‘block teaching’ sessions). The taught content recording can take various forms i.e. session recording, or pre-recorded material. The taught content recording should be accessible and include captions and/or transcript where appropriate.

4.2.2

All staff are expected to engage with and make use of the Lecture and Content Recording Service provided by Digital Services at Swansea University, except in the circumstances envisaged by 2.1 above.

4.2.3

The decision not to make a taught content recording of the entire module or its parts, and in accordance with 4.2.5 and 4.2.6, must be made at Programme level and agreed with the Programme Director and School Education Lead. A suitable alternative (see 3.4) should be provided to students. A record of the decision and the reasons for it should be kept and referred to in module and programme review, for quality assurance purposes, and reported through relevant Faculty committees/boards. Feedback from students should be sought and reflected upon, with the use of the available module review mechanisms.

4.2.4

Staff delivering the learning activity should inform students that the activity is to be recorded. They should apply discretion and pause or later edit a recording, for example if sensitive material is being taught or if the recording would interfere with interactive teaching.

4.2.5

There may be ad hoc instances where recording is not possible due to unforeseen circumstances (including but not limited to technology issues etc.). On these occasions, it may not be feasible to inform students in advance that recording will not be possible. A suitable alternative (will be provided in such circumstances within two working days of the missed session, in compliance with the DLP Minimum Standards Policy.

4.2.6

Reasons that teaching sessions may not be recorded, and suitable alternatives may not be provided include:

• Where the teaching activity is delivered with a high degree of interactivity i.e., Q&A, tactile experiences (e.g. lab work) etc.
• Where there may be legal, ethical or privacy reasons for not recording such as instances, where discussion or activities contain confidential or personal information or are commercially or politically sensitive.
• Where making a recording would be detrimental to the student experience and inhibit students’ participation and effective learning, i.e. peer discussion, collaborative problem solving.
• Where the facility to record the activity is not available in the learning space and teaching staff do not have access to alternative means to record the session. The unavailability of a recording, due to lack of facility or system failure, will not be acceptable grounds for a student complaint.
• Where the same content is delivered more than once for the same student cohort (e.g. repeated sessions necessitated by timetable constraints, or smaller group teaching where the cohort is subdivided) - in these instances a single recording will be provided, rather than one per repetition of the delivery

4.2.7

• Recordings will not be used for staff professional development reviews or staff promotion purposes (unless the staff member concerned chooses to do so), but provision of such will be considered as part of any virtual learning environment audit.

4.3  Expectations for Students

4.3.1

Any use of a teaching content capture/recording other than for a student’s personal learning needs (including disability support provision) in relation to their studies or any unauthorised distribution, wholly or in part of a recording will be considered a breach of the Digital Acceptable Use Policy and will be subject to disciplinary action.

5.1

Recordings made using University software are governed by University’s current policy on Intellectual Property, please see Section 4 Teaching Materials and other Academic Materials for further information: Swansea University policy on Intellectual Property.

Staff should avoid wherever possible capturing the footage of the audience in the taught content recordings, including individual voices. This may be achieved by paraphrasing any remark given by students in class. If a recording contains footage of individuals, data protection issues may arise. Images and/or voice of an individual may be classed as personal data if the individuals can be identified, and as such the University will need to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 (as amended from time to time), including handling children’s data.

All taught content capture/recordings will be retained for a period of at least five years in line with the Learning Environment Course Retention Policy and Panopto archiving policy. If the content is viewed a minimum of once every 13 months, it will be stored indefinitely.