The University of Birmingham
iVLE Event Capture Guidance and Consent Form
The University of Birmingham (“the University”) is committed to enhancing the student learning experience. It is
with this purpose in mind that the University promotes the recording of events such as lectures. Allowing students
to access recordings of such events is considered to be of benefit to students both in terms of students reviewing the
content of the lecture and in terms of their revision. It is considered to be of particular benefit to students with
special educational needs and students for whom English is not their first language. In all the circumstances covered
by this policy, the recording of lectures is undertaken to supplement student learning and will not replace student
contact hours.
The University will cease to use recordings from the date on which the member of staff who made the recording
ceases to be engaged by the University, save where a student who has taken a leave of absence from the University
returns to complete his or her degree and would benefit from viewing the recording. The University will therefore
only retain recordings made by that member of staff whilst there are registered students enrolled on the programme
to which the recording relates.
This guidance note sets out the basis on which events at the University will be recorded for those members of
teaching staff who wish to do so. Whether or not to record a lecture is for the member of teaching staff undertaking
the lecture to decide and the University recognises that recording lectures may not always be appropriate.
Guidance -Key principles and legal considerations for Event Capture
There are a number of key principles that must be followed to ensure compliance with the University’s legal
obligations regarding copyright, performance rights and data protection.
These principles are:
1.1 That the instructor makes all parties, for example the students in the venue, aware that the recording is being
made. Students should be advised, for example, where to sit so that they do not appear on the video, or to
indicate that they do not wish to be recorded answering questions in an audio recording. This can be by way of
the sample slide available within the iVLE guidance section of the webLearn website:
http://www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/weblearn/.Where a party indicates that he or she does not wish to be
recorded answering questions or participating in a discussion, the instructor will make alternative arrangements
to allow that individual to contribute, for example, by taking written questions and comments.
1.2 That the instructors must ensure that they do not infringe copyright by recording any material that they do not
have permission to use and that written permission has been sought and granted where material is included in
the recording which is the intellectual property, including copyright, of another party. Further guidance on
copyright is available through Library Services at:
https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/usecollections/copyright/licences/scanning/proced
ures.aspx
1.3 That the recording may be stored in the cloud and may be made available via the World Wide Web and similar
communication channels (including the iVLE) only to students registered on the course being recorded, unless
requests are made by the instructor to make the recordings more widely available to other registered students
(for example, to students on other units).
1.4 That, where students or other third parties make a substantial contribution to the delivery of recorded events, a
signed consent form for the third party is obtained by the instructor prior to the recording being made available
for viewing. See the webLearn website http://www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/weblearn/ for the consent form.
This form should be completed and returned to CLAD and Learning Spaces via internal post or scanned and
emailed to cladenquiries@contacts.bham.ac.uk. A substantial contribution is considered to be anything more
than merely answering questions or participating in a group discussion.
1.5 The University reserves the right to publish the recording and, after a delay for encoding, the recording will be
made available to students through the VLE once the event has been concluded under standard procedures. If
an instructor wishes to delay publication or withhold access to the recording for editing purposes, he/she can do
so using the facilities available. Instructions on how to achieve this are available via the webLearn website
(http://www.intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/weblearn/) and help can be obtained from the eLearning Team. The
instructor must notify the University’s central e-Learning Team via elearnteam@lists.bham.ac.uk immediately
after the lecture has finished if an event or incident has occurred which is not appropriate for release.
2. The University reserves the right to audit courses created within and delivered by the Core platform to ensure
compliance with the above responsibilities. Any such content found to be non-compliant will be removed until
such time as it is made compliant and this has been verified.
3. Save in cases of alleged gross misconduct, recordings will only be used for educational purposes and will not be
used to manage performance or as part of any disciplinary or capability processes.
4. The University reserves the right to edit recordings where necessary and appropriate, for example, where there
is offensive language, a breach of the Data Protection Act, or where material is no longer academically sound, or
contains a defamatory statement or proven copyright infringement. Where issues have not been highlighted or
identified as a concern to the e-Learning team in accordance with paragraph 1.5 above, the editing and sign-off
of the recording will be the responsibility of the instructor to ensure that academic standards are maintained.
When editing a recording, the instructor should refer to the training materials on the editing process provided by
the elearning team or work in consultation with the e-Learning Team.
5. Any person who wilfully, knowingly and without authorisation uses a computer, computer system or network
to access, disclose, publish, take or copy material or attempts to do so in infringement of intellectual property
rights, licence conditions, contractual rights, copyright, data protection or confidentiality, wherever the act
occurs, commits a disciplinary offence.
Sources of support and guidance
If you require guidance on the use of third party content and copyrighted material within your lecture, please
contact Library Services: copyright@contacts.bham.ac.uk. If you require guidance or technical support on using
the iVLE please contact the central e-Learning Team: elearnteam@lists.bham.ac.uk.