Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
At Georgetown, we are committed to ensuring that our classroom settings promote serious dialogue while protecting privacy, academic freedom, and intellectual property.
The increased use of recording technology has necessitated the need for university-level policies for its use in classrooms. Many instructors choose to record their classes for pedagogical purposes while some prefer not to. Students with specific needs, such as disabilities, are also legally entitled to reasonable accommodations, which may include the ability to record classes.
Last fall we launched a working group of faculty members, subject matter experts and professional staff from across the university to review and make recommendations on this important issue. The working group, led by Prof. Michael Bailey, Colonel William J. Walsh Professor of American Government, Department of Government and McCourt School of Public Policy, developed the Policy on Recording in Classes and Instructional Settings.
The policy, which has been endorsed by the Faculty Senate and approved by Georgetown’s Board of Directors, prohibits unauthorized recording in classes and instructional settings, and sets forth the circumstances under which recording may be authorized.
The university-wide policy aims to:
- Support the responsible use of recording technology for educational purposes;
- Protect the rights and interests of all community members;
- Provide equal opportunity among students to access the university’s educational programs; and,
- Preserve Georgetown’s classes and instructional settings as places for free and open inquiry, deliberation, and debate.
While this policy applies to all Georgetown University students, faculty, staff and visitors to any Georgetown class or instructional setting, we recognize there may be school-level specific details that will require additional information. We encourage you to read the full policy, as well as the accompanying Frequently Asked Questions document.
Sincerely,
Soyica Diggs Colbert
Interim Provost
Norman J. Beauchamp Jr.
Executive Vice President for Health Sciences
Joshua C. Teitelbaum
Interim Executive Vice President and Dean of the Law Center