After several years of lobbying, we're delighted to have a written policy on (teaching) lecture capture.
Over several years our student body has been lobby the University of Bath to mandate recorded lectures. Whilst some lectures were recorded and uploaded onto Panopto pre pandemic it was still a continuous battle to get all lectures recorded. This is why the creation of a policy that outlines the lecture capture requirements here at Bath has been on an SU priority for several years, and one of the key pieces of work every SU Officer Team has contributed towards. There have been multiple policy proposals plans, constant lobbying in meetings from a departmental level to Senate (the University highest academic body). We are proud to be saying we finally have a written policy on (teaching) lecture capture which was approved by Senate on the 21 April! This a great first step and allows for continuous progress to ensure the policy reflects the needs of students.
What does this mean?
-
Next year formal learning sessions (such as lectures, seminars, external speakers lectures and LOILs) should be paired with a visual or audio recording through the university’s teaching capture system (unless there is an exception detailed in the policy).
-
Staff have the discretion to pause or stop recording if appropriate and necessary to do so, for example if sensitive or personal information is being discussed, or where there are pedagogical, moral, ethical or privacy concerns.
-
If you have a Disability Action Plan and your lecture is not recorded the university is legally required to provide you with a suitable alternative. However, if teaching recordings is a requirement rather than a recommendation, an alternative will not be acceptable.
-
Having this written in the policy is a major step forward. We are going to be continuing the work around DAPs with the University. We believe that a suitable alternative should not only be available for students with a Disability Action Plan. If you’re ill one day and miss a lecture, your learning should not be compromised!
This is a massive win for us all! Thank you to all the previous Education Officers who worked so hard to get this onto the agenda, to the Academic Reps and Academic Exec who contributed to the drafting process of this policy and to you for keeping making noise to create change!
It is worth noting that this does not guarantee all lecture will be recorded. As much as we wish we could secure this, due to reasons such as the content taught and academics rights, it can’t be guaranteed yet. The university strongly encourages staff to record all formal learning sessions and this year has seen a change in attitudes towards recording of lectures, whilst addressing many of the concern’s academics had over their rights.
We will continue to monitor this from the beginning of next academic year to ensure it is supporting you as best possible!
To read the full policy click here.