Camera Recommendations

Students may have concerns about privacy.   The Online Teaching and Learning Committee suggests that you:

  • Allow students to participate without video. This supports privacy and equity --  some students may not have the equipment or bandwidth to use video.  There are plenty of ways to encourage interaction and participation without requiring live video.  We hope you can discuss this among peers to come up with creative alternatives.
  • Record sessions for students who may not be able to attend.  For recordings:
    • Inform students before you start recording.
    • Announce that students can turn off video and/or change the screen name if they have privacy concerns.
    • Share recordings only with the class section recorded.

 

District Recommendations

Sent on behalf of:

  •   Patrick Setzer, VPI, Cuyamaca College
  •   Dr. Marshall Fulbright, VPAA, Grossmont College
  •   Manuel Mancillas-Gomez, Cuyamaca College Academic Senate
  •   Denise Schulmeyer, Grossmont College Academic Senate

The transition to primarily online instruction engendered by the covid-19 pandemic has raised issues across the state about whether faculty can require students to turn on their video cameras during live synchronous online instruction, or whether such a requirement violates the privacy rights of students. On October 19, 2020 the CCCCO released Legal Opinion 2020-12 Links to an external site. to address this issue and provide recommendations for colleges. It contains the following recommendations: 

Districts should adopt policies strictly limiting or prohibiting faculty from instituting cameras-on requirements in order to protect against violations of student privacy, protect academic freedom, and ensure compliance with FERPA, California’s student privacy law, and federal disability laws and their state analogs. 

Colleges should adopt a cameras-optional approach that respects student concerns regarding privacy, access, and equity. Such a policy should address or include: 

  • Cameras should be presumptively optional for live synchronous online classes. 
  • If audio and visual student participation is essential: 
    • Allow faculty to require cameras to be on, but only to the extent necessary, and with adequate notice to students; 
    • Clearly identify the essential nature of video for instruction and consider a student’s privacy or technical objections and create a confidential “opt out” mechanism that allows a student to decline video participation; 
    • Encourage faculty to consider an alternative to video participation such as audio participation; 
    • Encourage the use of electronic video backgrounds; and 
    • Allow students flexibility to turn off their cameras or mute audio unless needed. 
  • Encourage the use of the chat feature for attendance and discussion. 

You will need to work with your department chair or program coordinator and your dean to apply the above guidelines. We further recommend: 

  • Exceptions to the cameras-optional default should be applied consistently across all sections of pertinent courses. 
  • For those classes in which live synchronous audio and visual student participation is essential, instructors should provide detailed notification in their syllabi, and notify their students via Canvas or email as early as possible.  

Exceptions to the cameras-optional default will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Examples of appropriate exceptions include but are not limited to: 

  • Courses that have SLOs that can only be assessed via live, synchronous audio and video student participation. 
  • Programs/courses that are subject to independent, external, or industry-based accreditation. 
  • Grant-funded projects that are intended to develop synchronous instructional capabilities. 

 

GCCCD acknowledges that equity gaps for some disproportionately impacted student populations have historically been even larger online than on campus. The District and its colleges take institutional responsibility for investigating options, committing resources, and supporting approaches for closing these online equity gaps. This commitment is realized by providing online technologies, instruction, student services, and professional learning opportunities informed by data and guided by values rooted in pedagogy, excellence, equity, diversity, inclusion, and community. 

 

References:                 CCCCO Legal Opinion 2020-12: Online Class Cameras-On Requirements Download CCCCO Legal Opinion 2020-12: Online Class Cameras-On Requirements 

 

 

Additional Resources

Camera Privacy Issues