As set out in the Provostial Guidelines on the Appropriate Use of Information and Communication Technology, the unauthorised use of any form of device to audiotape, photograph, video-record or otherwise reproduce lectures, course notes or teaching materials provided by instructors is covered by the Canadian Copyright Act and is prohibited. Students must obtain prior written consent to such recording. In the case of private use by students with disabilities (addressed further below), the instructor's consent must not be unreasonably withheld.
Instructors at the Faculty of Law may choose to record or not to record their classes in whole or in part, in audio or video form. Individual instructors may choose the format of their recordings and the portion(s) of their class or classes that are recorded, and they may choose to distribute the recordings to their entire class if they wish to do so.
In classes where individual instructors choose not to make recordings available to the entire class, recordings may be made available to students whose Letter of Accommodation from Accessibility Services includes an accommodation for lecture recording. In some circumstances, students may also receive, through Accessibility Services, an accommodation to make their own recordings. In such circumstances, the instructor must be made aware of the accommodation.
If a class is to be recorded, in whole or in part, the instructor will provide notice to class participants, either on the syllabus, in class, or both.
Recordings may also be made available to students with the approval of the Accommodations and Considerations Committee. The Committee will approve access to recordings, if available, for students who are unable to attend class for:
- Religious Observances;
- Medical Reasons;
- Circumstances that are beyond and outside and beyond the student's control.
Access to recordings through the Accommodations and Considerations Committee may require the provision of supporting documentation. In the case of medical reasons for absence, a student will need to provide a Verification of Illness (VOI). In the case of absence for a major life event (such as a birth or death of a family member), the relevant documentation will depend on the specific nature of the absence. Disability-related requests for recordings, including those related to episodic disabilities, cannot be addressed by the Accommodations and Considerations Committee, and must be made through Accessibility Services.
Recordings made and provided by the Faculty of Law are intended to allow students to make up for absences. As such, they will be available for two weeks after the date of the lecture recorded, and will not be retained by the Faculty of Law after that. Recordings of lectures are not a substitute for attendance, and students who receive recordings will not be excused from attendance on that basis. (See the Faculty's Attendance Policy for more details.)
Recordings will be provided subject to an undertaking that they be used only for academic purposes related to the course or courses for which they were created and that they will not be reproduced or distributed in any form.
