Student Privacy (FERPA) in Virtual Classrooms and Other Educational Recordings Consent & Release Decision Tree
Will you be recording classes and/or other educational events?
- NO – STOP HERE. No consents are required for purposes of UTSA’s Student Privacy (FERPA) in Virtual Classrooms and Other Educational Recordings.
- YES
- Review UTSA’s Student Privacy (FERPA) in Virtual Classrooms and Other Educational Recordings and the Guide to Secure Video Conferencing Tools,
- Let session attendees know they are being recorded,
- Offer an opt out, and
- Continue to the next question to determine if you need a FERPA consent form from students to disclose the recording.
Will your recorded classes* and/or other educational events include students in the recording?
- NO – STOP HERE. It’s not FERPA and no consents are required for purposes of UTSA’s Student Privacy (FERPA) in Virtual Classrooms and Other Educational Recordings.
- YES - Continue to the next question to determine if you need a FERPA consent form from students to disclose the recording.
- *Remember that multiple sections of a class are still different classes and should be convened/recorded separately.
Will the recording(s) be shared with anyone outside of the current class(section) and/or educational event?
- NO – STOP HERE. If disclosure/sharing is only to the current class (section), educational event attendees, and/or instructor/facilitator, no consents are required for purposes of UTSA’s Student Privacy (FERPA) in Virtual Classrooms and Other Educational Recordings.
- YES - If you intend to disclose/share the recording to anyone outside of current class (section), educational event attendees, and/or instructor/facilitator, then the intended audience is determinative and a FERPA consent form is required, unless the other person is also a UTSA school official with a legitimate educational interest in the recording or one of the other enumerated FERPA exceptions (See HOP 5.1, IX., C., 2. for full list of exceptions).
- If consent is required , here are the instructions, on how to electronically capture the student's information and signature:
- Ask students to download the student consent form and open it in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (which is free to all UTSA faculty, staff, and students).
- They will be able to electronically fill in the fields with the required information, including their electronic signature.
- Here is a link to instructions (video) on how to do this, for you to share with your students.
- Once done, they can save it and return the file back to you for documentation of their consent.
- If consent is required , here are the instructions, on how to electronically capture the student's information and signature:
Need Help?
- FERPA Questions: Sandra Garcia, Associate Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer in Legal Affairs, sandra.garcia3@utsa.edu
- Technical Questions: Academic Innovation - academicinnovation@utsa.edu or call 210-458-4520, Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
