What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 protects the privacy of student education records. The Act provides for the right to inspect and review education records, the right to seek to amend those records, and the right to limit disclosure of information from the records. The intent of the legislation is to protect the rights of students and to ensure the privacy and accuracy of education records. The Act applies to all institutions that are recipients of federal aid administered by the Secretary of Education.
The University of Denver is committed to the safeguarding and accurate maintenance of student records. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 provides students with a number of rights regarding their educational records.
The University of Denver will not release student records without the written consent of the student. *
*From DU’s Office of the Registrar FERPA website.
ARE LECTURE RECORDINGS CONSIDERED A STUDENT RECORD?
If your Zoom recording is created or edited in any way that shares student information, the recording may constitute an educational record that is protected under FERPA. If the recording includes only the instructor/faculty member, it is not considered a student record and FERPA protection laws would not limit the further use of the video. When the recordings include student presentations, students asking questions, or any student speaking, the student must provide written consent for use of the recording outside of the current term. Learn more about FAQs on photos and videos from the U.S. Department of Education FERPA webpage.
MAY I POST A CLASS RECORDING IN CANVAS THAT INCLUDES STUDENT PARTICIPATION?
Yes. You may post a class recording that includes student participation in your Canvas course as long as access is limited to students in that course section only. Canvas uses password protection to protect student privacy for students enrolled in the current course. FERPA does not limit or prevent the use of class recordings for use in the same class and does not require written consent in these use cases.
MAY I SHARE A CLASS RECORDING WITH STUDENTS IN OTHER COURSE SECTIONS?
Sharing lecture recordings with student participation in other course sections may violate student FERPA protection laws. To use a video featuring students outside of the originating course, the instructor must obtain individualized written FERPA consent from the student(s) represented in the recording or de-identify any student interaction depicted. This may show up on a case-by-case basis or be collected by all students at the start of the term. You are also encouraged to use DU approved video editing software, like Kaltura, to edit student interactions from your lecture recordings.
MAY I SHARE A CLASS RECORDING IN CROSS-LISTED COURSES?
Class recordings may only be shared across cross-listed courses that are officially cross-listed in Banner. To officially cross-list multiple course sections, please reach out to the Office of the Registrar. Instructors that manually cross-list their courses must ensure students across sections are not able to interact with one another. To do so, you would need to disable chat, conferences, collaborations, comments on announcements, messages/inbox, use groups for discussion boards only, AND share Zoom recordings in a password protected Canvas page.
CAN STUDENTS BE REQUIRED TO GIVE WRITTEN CONSENT?
No. Consent is required in order to share student records. However, students cannot be required to give consent. If students do not give consent for sharing video recording that you want to use in future course sections, you are required to edit the student out of the recording to de-identify them.
HOW CAN I FORMALLY OBTAIN WRITTEN FERPA CONSENT TO SHARE LECTURE RECORDINGS OUTSIDE OF MY CURRENT COURSE?
*Official form coming soon from the Office of the Registrar
ONE OF MY STUDENTS HAS AN AUDIO RECORDING ACCOMMODATION FROM DSP, WHAT AM I EXPECTED TO KNOW?
Students who have Audio Recordings as an accommodation may be required by instructors to complete the Audio Recording Memorandum of Understanding that outlines students’ rights and responsibilities. This form is available on the DSP website. Audio recording lectures, class discussions or other events that are not open to the public may be allowed but should be discussed in advance with the teacher or speaker. In general, the agreement sets out the understanding between the instructor and the student in any circumstances where the recording is not appropriate (e.g., private information shared in a psychology or social work class), and any restrictions on sharing of audio files. Students with this accommodation are responsible for providing their own recording device. If you have specific questions or concerns about a student using this accommodation in your course or in a specific session of your course, please contact dsp@du.edu.
WHO CAN I CONSULT FOR GUIDANCE ON HOW TO COMPLY WITH FERPA PROTECTIONS LAWS AT DU?
For all FERPA related questions or DU policies, please contact the Office of the Registrar at 303-871-4095 or registrar@du.edu.
WHO CAN I CONTACT FOR VIDEO EDITING SUPPORT AT DU?
For support with Kaltura, please contact otl@du.edu or visit our Kaltura Knowledge Base for asynchronous resources.
ADDITIONAL ASYNCHRONOUS RESOURCES
- Navigating privacy and FERPA at DU webpage
- Recording your course: protecting privacy, intellectual property, and tips for success OTL blog
- Protecting student privacy while using online educational services: requirements and best practices from the U.S. Department of Education Privacy Technical Assistance Center
Note: Content on this webpage was adapted from our colleagues at Southern Methodist University and Virginia Western University.
