UNC debuts policy on secretly recording classes. Here’s what it says.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Students banned from secret recordings; university may record in authorized cases.
- Investigatory recordings need written OK from provost and general counsel.
- University will report annual counts of requests, approvals, and recordings made.
A new policy published Tuesday dictates clear rules on who can and cannot surreptitiously record a class at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Faculty anxiety around secret recordings of classrooms surfaced in 2024 after a UNC business professor’s class was recorded without his permission. The high-profile firing of a Texas A&M University professor following a student’s secret recording of her gender identity lecture further rattled campuses. A series of undercover recordings at the UNC System raised additional concern.
UNC’s new policy establishes binding requirements and enforcement mechanisms, replacing a vague, “best practices” policy. Under the new policy, students are still barred from recording classes without their instructor’s knowledge. Faculty see that as a key protection.
The most controversial line in the policy is this:
“The University may record a class or access existing classroom recordings without the permission or knowledge of the instructor being recorded for the following purposes:
- To gather evidence in connection with an investigation into alleged violations of University policy, when authorized in writing by the Provost and the Chief Human Resources Officer; and
- For any other lawful purpose, when authorized in writing by the Provost and the Office of University Counsel, who will consult with the Chair of the Faculty.”
Faculty leaders discussed this provision in a recent Faculty Executive Committee meeting. Jim Dean, the interim executive vice chancellor and provost, stopped by to address the group.
“I’ll immediately say that’s a pretty strong thing to be able to do, and that’s why I said it’s only done under rare circumstances,” Dean said. “It almost always has something to do with some legal issue.”
An earlier draft of the policy didn’t require the provost and the Office of University Counsel to consult with the chair of the faculty, but after hearing the concerns of Faculty Council chair Beth Moracco, that requirement was added.
One faculty member asked Dean who can request the provost and counsel to record a classroom.
“The policy is really silent on that,” Dean responded. “It only said that it won’t happen unless there’s an agreement with the general counsel and the provost. I don’t know if we can anticipate it.”
The university will compile and publish an annual report that documents the number of requests to record without notice, the number of those that get approved, and the number of recordings actually made.
