Privacy Considerations

The sudden arrival of remote teaching and learning at Notre Dame raises a number of serious considerations related to intellectual property, academic freedom, and student and faculty privacy in the online learning environment. This article offers guidance on best practices and University policies intended to create a remote teaching and learning experience that maintains the integrity of the intellectual community in our courses. The following specific areas are covered:

1. Intellectual Property and the Use of Learning Materials
2. The Privacy of the Classroom: Advice for Faculty
3. Best Practices and Rationales for Remote Teaching and Learning
4. Key Concerns Related to the Use of Live Classroom Recordings
5. Action Steps for Instructors: Privacy-Enhancing Practices and Technologies
6. Advice for Notre Dame Students

Just as in a face-to-face class, the interactions and learning materials in an online course create a shared private classroom. Maintaining the privacy of the online classroom is crucial if we are to cultivate effective learning and maintain academic freedom.  The network architecture of the internet is optimized for easy sharing; motivated users can find a way to copy and share what they want to share. 

With that in view, we outline a series of norms, technology-related practices, and specific steps intended to maintain the privacy of our now-remote classrooms in which fearless inquiry and effective learning will unfold.

Intellectual Property and Use of Learning Materials: 

Advice to Faculty

As provided in the University Policy on Intellectual Property section 2.3, unless instructors have entered into a specific agreement with the University that dictates otherwise, any learning materials (including but not limited to videos, exams, problem sets, and case studies) that you create and upload to Sakai, or create and share with your students using other University platforms, remain your intellectual property. In order to reduce the risk of  “IP flight” (e.g. the circulation of your learning materials without your permission), we encourage you to use University-supported and user-authenticated platforms for hosting and sharing such materials. If you have further concerns about your materials circulating, you may wish to include a copyright notation or attribution license, although this is not required. Faculty having any doubt or question as to the proper use of third-party intellectual property or resources in their online courses should feel free to contact the HesburghLibraries or the Office of General Counsel, as appropriate.

Please communicate to your students how they may use or share your learning materials. Using University-supported platforms (such as Sakai and Panopto) that require user authentication provides the most security, but please recognize that digital materials are inherently easy to circulate. Your College or School may have additional guidance specific to your discipline.

The Privacy of the Classroom: Advice for Faculty

As on campus, your online class is an intellectual community formed and sustained by and for you and your students. In an online course, the “classroom” includes learning materials of all kinds (including those created by students and instructors), communications and interactions, and recordings of live class meetings. Please take special care to protect the privacy of this community from unintentional harms as well as external interference by:

a.) using University-provided and user-authenticated platforms for your learning materials and interactions;

b.) providing clear written guidance to your students on the use of learning materials as well as on privacy norms and your conduct expectations. Instructors and students alike must seek to keep their interactions private to the class community by refraining from sharing information outside of that community. Students may not share or otherwise distribute to any other person learning materials (including, but not limited to,  recordings of live meetings or class sessions) beyond the immediate community associated with that specific course, unless expressly permitted by the instructor responsible for the course.

c.) enforcing these norms and practices in your own instruction (e.g., not sharing learning materials, recordings, or other private materials in public forums or through social media).

Best Practices and Rationales for Recording Live Classes

Notre Dame instructors should use University-provided and user-authenticated platforms such as Sakai, Zoom, and Panopto for the purpose of remote teaching and learning.  Specifically, faculty should use Zoom to hold and record live “synchronous” class meetings and Sakai and Panopto to host and distribute “asynchronous” learning materials (pre-recorded lectures, online discussions, student-scheduled active learning projects, etc). 

For live synchronous meetings, instructors should use the Zoom platform to record those meetings for later use by students in the class. There are two strong rationales for recording live classes:

• Equity. Some students may be unable to join live meetings on occasion due to a wide variety of challenging personal circumstances (for example, health, connectivity, physical location (including time zones), family obligations). Accessing recorded live classes later enables these students to maintain forward progress and stay connected with their classmates and their instructors.
• Learning Support. Live class recordings are a valuable resource and study aid for all students, who often find these recordings helpful for later review and reinforcement.

Ultimately, each instructor retains the discretion to decide whether or not to record live sessions, in alignment with the core doctrines of academic freedom (e.g., freedom of teaching). However, Colleges, Schools or Departments may have more specific guidance. 

“Asynchronous” learning materials are accessed by students on their own time, but within the schedule set by instructors and memorialized on a revised syllabus.  Asynchronous learning provides greater flexibility for students who may be facing significant daily disruption to their normal class meeting schedule for reasons including family health, connectivity, and challenging personal circumstances. 

Key Privacy Concerns Related to Live Class Recordings

As noted, the classroom is a privileged space that should be shielded from external view in order to preserve the strongest possible conditions for intellectual discovery and collaborative learning. Recording and the potential unauthorized sharing of live classroom recordings raises significant privacy concerns. 

For example, recording a live class can create a chilling effect on students and faculty. Wide-ranging discussions, arguments, and individual presentations may be inhibited by the fear of unauthorized sharing or exposure.

Likewise, external circulation of private classroom recordings increases the possibility that students or instructors will be the target of external harassment, trolling, and other forms of unwelcome exposure. Such harassment is especially likely to be directed at women and People of Color.

We continue to recommend, as a best practice, that live class meetings are recorded by the instructor only and made available for later use by students in the course only. In order to reduce the risk of the harms enumerated above, we request that all instructors who record live classes follow the steps below.

Privacy-Protective Technology Checklist for Live Class Recordings

Using Zoom Cloud to Record a Live Class

1. Using Zoom, when recording a live class, select “record to cloud” 

2. After completion, Zoom will share a link with you. Recordings are also found in the Recordings tab in your Zoom account.
3. In Zoom settings, “make files downloadable” should be set to off/no.
4. Post the link within Sakai. Students will be able to view but not download the class recording. Zoom also provides a machine-generated and searchable transcript.
5. To find out more click here.

Using Zoom + Panopto to Record and Share a Live Class

1. Enable Panopto in Sakai (learn how here).
2. Using Zoom, record a live class and select “record locally on your computer.”
3. Upload the file of the Zoom recording into Panopto.
4. Students can then access recordings from within Sakai using Panopto.

Action Steps for Instructors:  Privacy-Enhancing Practices & Technologies

In order to encourage privacy-protective behaviors and reduce the likelihood of unintended harms and external intrusion/harassment, we ask that Notre Dame instructors share specific advice with students and follow the technology advice outlined below.

1.) Communicate the following advice (or your version of it) to students:

1. how students may use and share any asynchronous materials you created for the class (e.g. pre-recorded lectures, case studies, problem sets, etc.);
2. that live class recordings are created to support classmates who face challenging circumstances and to provide a learning resource for everyone in the class; 
3. that students may not record or share recordings of any live class meetings for any reason, without the written permission of their instructor;
4. that students may not share learning materials or class communications with Notre Dame students or anyone else outside the class, without the written permission of their instructor;
5. that students and instructors may be exposed to unwelcome attention, external harassment, and other intrusive conduct as a result of even well-intentioned sharing of learning materials;
6. That the intentional sharing of learning materials or private information with external groups or individuals, represents a breach of trust and may be considered a violation of the applicable Honor Code, which may lead to sanctions;
7. That the deliberate sharing of private images, communications, learning materials or other depictions of students or instructors for the purpose of inviting external commentary, ridicule, or embarrassment is an especially egregious violation of trust and University policy that will lead to severe sanctions;
8. That ultimately our classrooms are communities built on trust, and that our learning and teaching relies upon a shared sense of respect, integrity, and common purpose.

2.) Implement the following technology solutions and strategies:

1. Use University-supported and user-authenticated platforms such as Sakai, Panopto and Zoom to host learning materials (including video and student-created learning materials;
2. Only host recordings of live classes in Panopto or Zoom Cloud and make sure these files are not downloadable by end-users;
3. If you have concerns about unauthorized use of intellectual property, avoid posting files, links or other learning materials you have authored for student use to public websites.
4.  Avoid emailing files, documents, and learning materials that you do not want to be further disseminated;
5. Do not use social media platforms to make public posts of files, links, or images of learning materials.
6. Absolutely DO NOT post or share any student-created materials or files or images portraying students to public websites or on social media platforms without the written consent of ALL students depicted or featured.

Advice to Notre Dame Students

Notre Dame students should keep the following general principles in mind:

• the classroom, whether physical or virtual, is intended to be a safe and secure environment for learning;
• trust and collaboration are keys to integrity;
• pay careful attention to your instructors’ rules and guidance regarding the sharing of class learning materials, permitted forms of collaboration, and other behaviors related to remote learning and teaching; 
• you are responsible for maintaining the shared privacy of your class for the benefit of your peers and your instructors as well as yourself;
• your instructors may record live class meetings to support classmates that face challenging circumstances and also in order to provide a learning resource for your use. Do not download or share these recordings with anyone, for any reason, without the explicit consent of your instructor;
• you, your peers, and your instructors may be exposed to unwelcome attention, external harassment, and other intrusive conduct as a result of even well-intentioned public sharing of learning materials;
• the intentional sharing of learning materials or private information with external groups or individuals, without the written permission of the instructor, represents a breach of trust and a violation of the Honor Code applicable to you; such sharing may lead to sanctions;
• the deliberate sharing of private images, communications, learning materials or other depictions of other students or your instructors for the purpose of inviting external commentary, ridicule, or embarrassment is an especially egregious violation of trust and University policy that may lead to severe sanctions; and
• ultimately our classrooms are communities built on trust and our learning and teaching relies upon a shared sense of respect, integrity, and common purpose.

Instructors with concerns or questions about online privacy matters should communicate with their Dean's Office; students may be directed to the Office of Community Standards.