Recording of Classes
Recording of classes is governed by the university's Policy on Acceptable Use of IT Systems and Resources. When instructors intend to record a class or a specific class session that will be delivered either in person or online, they are required to communicate this to the students both in writing through the course syllabus and at the beginning of the class session to be recorded. The notice to the class may be provided orally if in person and, if remote, using the standard notice functionality provided by online meeting tools such as Teams, Zoom, and Panopto.
As a general practice, video recordings of in-person classes must be set up in such a way that only the instructor’s image is recorded, with no students visible. The instructor may choose to turn off the recording for an entire class or at certain points during a class to minimize the possibility that the recording might stifle discussion and the free and open exchange of ideas.
Instructors who choose to record a class are required to use the university’s Canvas platform to make the recording available to their students. Canvas supports recording in Teams, Panopto, Canvas Studio, and Zoom. Instructors must ensure:
- Access is limited to students enrolled in the class.
- Students are provided “view only” privileges to both the video and transcript so that they are unable to download and share.
For recordings of in-person classes, instructors must open Canvas and open one of the available video tools. No local devices (such as laptops or smartphones) may be used. For any questions on the use of these technologies, please contact ATHelp@northeastern.edu.
Faculty and other university officials may not grant individual student requests to record class sessions; such requests must be referred to Disability Access Services.
Recording of Classes by Students
Unless authorized by DAS, student recording of classroom activities is prohibited. Unauthorized use of classroom recordings made available to students by their instructor—including copying, reproducing, displaying, or distributing such recordings—is also prohibited. Class recordings and other instructional materials are protected by copyright, and unauthorized copying or distribution may violate those rights as well as the privacy rights of other students in the class.
Students requesting the use of assistive recording technology as an accommodation must direct such requests to DAS. Once approved, students are required to do the following:
1. Provide the written DAS approval to their instructor so the instructor can notify the class that the class will be recorded for the term; take care not to record the images of other students in the class; not share the recording with anyone other than as necessary for the approved accommodation; not use the recording for any purpose other than taking the class.
2. Delete the recording at the end of the term.