Whether you’re teaching online or in person, lecture recordings can be a valuable tool to allow students access to obtain and retain content from your lectures. But exactly whom can you share your class recordings with? And is a recorded lecture a protected student record under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacies Act?  

The answers can be complicated and depend on who and what is captured in recordings. To ensure that student privacy is protected in a manner permitted by FERPA laws, a work group comprising faculty and staff members from Academic and Student Affairs created guidelines this summer to assist faculty members in navigating these scenarios.

Questions

Is a recorded lecture (audio or video) a protected student record?  

  • If a recording includes students (other than teaching assistants) asking questions, making presentations or leading a class and it is possible to identify a student, then the portions containing recordings of the student constitute protected educational records and FERPA rules apply. If a recording includes only the instructor, it is not a student record and FERPA does not limit its use.
  • FERPA rules for recordings apply across the board, regardless of where the recording is gathered or the mode of learning experience.   
  • Educational records can be used only as permitted by FERPA or in a manner allowed by written consent from the student.  

May a recording that includes student participation be posted for other class members to view or listen to?  

  • Yes. If access is limited to other students in the class, FERPA does not limit or prevent such a recording’s use and does not require obtaining written consent. This allows instructors to create access for students in the class to watch or rewatch past class sessions.  

Can an instructor allow individuals outside of a class to access a video of that class that includes student participation?  

  • Maybe. There are several ways to use recordings that include student participation.  
  • The instructor may obtain individual FERPA consent from the students in the recording, which allows use of that portion of the recordings. This type of consent can be obtained on a case-by-case basis or from all the students at the outset of a class.   
  • Note: The Registrar’s Office is working on creating a form specifically for this purpose, which should be available to the campus community soon.  
  • Recordings can be edited to either omit any student who has not consented to the use of their voice or image or to de-identify the student in the recording (which can include avoiding or removing any mention of the student’s name, blurring the student’s image, altering voice recordings, etc.).  
  • Recordings can also be planned so that students (such as those asking questions during a class) are not shown in the video or referred to by name (another way to de-identify the student).  

Can an instructor prohibit individuals within a class to record a lecture that includes student participation?  

  • It depends. While faculty members can prohibit recordings as a matter of classroom policy, exceptions must be made for students granted accessibility accommodations if their accommodation includes the audio or video capture of class.   

What is the easiest way to comply with FERPA if I video-record my class sessions and students will be asking questions, doing presentations or appearing on camera?  

  • If access is limited to other students in the class, FERPA does not limit or prevent its use and does not require obtaining written consent. This allows instructors to create access for students in the class to watch or rewatch past class sessions.  
  • If access is not limited to students in the class, plan the recordings accordingly. Make sure not to show students who are asking questions and don’t refer to the students by name. Avoid repeating the student’s name in the recording (de-identifying the students removes the need for a specific consent from each student depicted). If a student happens to appear on camera, their identity can be edited out or written consent can be obtained.  
  • Because student presentations make it more difficult to de-identify the student, the instructor should obtain a FERPA consent from the student making a presentation. For any video projects, such as student-made films, an instructor should obtain written consent.  

Can the instructor share recordings to different class sections?  

  • Under FERPA, this situation must be treated as if the recordings were being shown to a third-party audience, which requires FERPA compliance through use of consents or de-identification of any students depicted.  

What if a student declines to sign a FERPA consent?  

  • Students cannot be compelled or required to give consent, though the instructor may edit the student out of the recording or de-identify them if the student refuses to consent.  

Whom can I consult for guidance on how to comply with federal law in my use of class-related recordings? Where can I learn more about FERPA at MSU Denver?  

  • More detailed information about FERPA at MSU Denver is available here.