Audio Recording Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The Universities of Wisconsin Regent Policy Document 4-1 allows instructors to limit or restrict students from recording class except when related to an accommodation approved by a campus’s student disability office. “Reasonable accommodations shall be provided to qualified students with disabilities who may require the use of a recording device, note-taker or other assistance or technology to effectively access instructional materials and lectures in order to participate in an educational or academic course, event or program.”

Being able to record class is a reasonable accommodation for students with a variety of disabilities that make it difficult to process course content, view course content, and/or access multiple in-class accommodations while effectively taking notes at the same time. Access to an audio recording allows students to ‘fill in the gaps’ after class, review content they missed in the moment, or clarify what they were able to write while in class. Audio recording is typically used as a type of notetaking accommodation.

If McBurney Center staff determine that an audio recording accommodation is appropriate based on disability-related impacts, a staff member discusses the audio agreement that students are required to sign each semester. The agreement reinforces policy and lays out responsibilities related to the recording accommodation. It reminds students that there are rules and parameters for this accommodation and that they can be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community if in violation of student nonacademic disciplinary procedures. The agreement states: “By signing this form, I understand I am recording the lectures as an accommodation and agree to not share or publish any of the recordings. I may be found in violation of nonacademic misconduct codes under UWS Chapter 17.09(11) and/or UWS Chapter 17.09(15) if I fail to abide by this agreement.”

Audio recording as an accommodation can either be a standalone accommodation, or it can be part of another notetaking accommodation like a smartpen or notetaking software/app on a laptop, tablet, or mobile device. The student with the accommodation is the one doing the audio recording. They may be using a personal device (e.g. phone or computer) or a device/software (e.g. iPad with notetaking app that has recording capability) provided by the McBurney Center. Given the difficulty of finding your place in a long, linear record (e.g. digital audio recorder), students are increasingly using notetaking accommodation devices that integrate the audio recording in a way that is easier to review and organize (e.g. OneNote with slides, smartpen, iPad app).

It is important that instructors use any built-in amplification when available in the classroom. Students manage the device that does the recording, so no additional steps are required.

Neither copyright nor intellectual property concerns outweigh the university’s obligation to provide reasonable accommodations. As employees of the university, we must abide by federal law and provide reasonable accommodations to disabled individuals. If an instructor believes that students are sharing or using the materials beyond the scope of why they were initially provided (the individual student’s education), students may be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for possible violation of UWS 17.09(11) Refusal to comply regarding a university matter and/or UWS 17.09(15) Violation of university rules.

If other students in the room could be taking notes (typing, writing, etc.) during class, then a student with an audio recording accommodation should be able to record. If an instructor is specifically saying something along the lines of “pencils down, computers closed, tablets/phones away, no notes of any kind” and then specifically says for how long (the next __ minutes, the rest of class today) AND students will not be assessed in any way on what others are sharing during that portion of class, then an instructor could talk with a student about not recording. That conversation should be had privately to maintain the student’s confidentiality. Students should not be assessed on any content that follows this ‘pencils down and recorders off’ statement.

It is appropriate for instructors to advise students generally that students with an accommodation through the McBurney Center may audio record classroom proceedings. Instructors should never identify, or risk identifying, the students with a recording accommodation. Other students do not need to provide consent to be recorded. We encourage instructors to simply notify guest speakers that they might be recorded when joining their class. If the speaker’s remarks are not going to be used in future assessments, instructors may use the generic ‘pencils down and recorders off’ instruction.

Sharing class materials and including presentation slides can be very helpful for all students, especially students with disabilities. Please be sure that anything you post is accessible and can be read with a screen reader. It is also very important to use any built-in amplification available in the classroom. Oftentimes, students will adjust where they sit in class to maximize the use of the accommodation.