Classroom Recordings
Seton Hall Law School provides students and faculty with a method of audio recording a classroom session if certain circumstances occur that force a student to miss class, or if a faculty member wishes to record a class for educational purposes. Upon approval, recordings are performed through overhead microphones and posted to our Blackboard course management system where student can review them remotely. Please note, however, that approval and subsequent student review of a classroom recording in no way alters the status of a missed class in terms of the law school's attendance policy, so a missed class is still a missed class.
Classroom Recording Approval Criteria
In order for a recording request to be approved, the student or faculty member must meet 1 of the following 4 criteria:
- Serious Personal Illness/Temporary Disability/Hospitalization - a doctor’s note must be provided to Student Services within 24hrs of returning to school.
- Death in the Immediate Family – documentation must be provided
- Religious holiday/observance - documentation may be requested
- Faculty request for educational purpose (such as recording a review class to be posted to all students in the course)
Requests, Approval and Notifications
To request a classroom recording, a student or faculty member must submit an email or verbal request to the Office of Student Services preferably 24 – 48 business hours before the class to be recorded. In emergency situations the request should be submitted as soon as possible. Students should not contact the faculty member directly. If requested by a student and approved, Student Services will notify the student and faculty member that a recording request has been approved, send Legal Computing a request to record the class and send the student instructions on how to access the recording once posted.
Please note, faculty approval for recording does not override meeting the recording process criteria listed above. Students must meet 1 of the 3 criteria listed above before approval by Student Services will be granted. Faculty may only refuse a recording request, not approve one.
If a faculty member does not wish the class to be recorded, he/she must notify Student Services as soon as possible so that the recording process can be interrupted. Under the first three criteria listed above, faculty recording permission will be assumed unless the professor explicitly requests a class not be recorded, or the professor has “opted out” of the classroom recording system (see below).
Recording and Posting Process
Once a class has been approved for recording, Legal Computing will schedule the recording using the dedicated PC and overhead microphones in place in each classroom. Handheld recording units are no longer necessary, but will be used as backups in case of PC outages. Once recorded, an MP3 of the class recording will be posted in the Blackboard course for that class within 48 business hours after the end of the class, and restrictions placed on the file so that ONLY the student requesting the recording can access the file. Please note that Legal Computing will not send a confirmation that a class has been posted, as instructions for access have already been sent by Student Services.
Retention Time
As a general rule, classroom recordings will remaining active in Blackboard for approximately 2 weeks. Faculty may request shorter or longer periods for educational recordings.
Recording Failures/Inaudible Recordings
As with any computer-based system, failures may occur due to various reasons such as PC freezes, power failures or human error. If a failure does occur and a recording cannot be posted, Legal Computing will notify the student, faculty member and Student Services of the failure.
Faculty Opt Out/Partial or Full Course – Opt In without email notification
If a faculty member wishes to opt out of classroom recordings, even in these limited circumstances, the faculty member must email Student Services as soon as possible. Opting out can be limited to a particular course for the entire semester or a particular class or time period. Notice is key, so faculty members must let Student Services know as early as possible. If a faculty member opts out for a particular course for the entire semester, Student Services suggests that students be advised of a non-recording policy in the syllabus.
If a faculty member wishes not to be contacted every time a recording request has been approved and will give permission to record any of his/her classes in all courses or a particular course as long as the one of the recording criteria is met, please let Student Services know as soon as possible. This will avoid unnecessary emails.