Email to members from branch vice president Chloe Wallace, 9 June 2020 Dear members I hope that you and yours are well – it is for many of us a particularly challenging time of a particularly challenging year, and I hope that you are getting through it. I am writing to update you on the situation in relation to the University’s proposed new Audio-Visual (lecture capture) policy. Thank you to all those who took the time to give us feedback on the proposals: if you have not already seen it, the summary of feedback is here: Thank you also to those who attended our General Meeting on the topic. You can find the text of the motion passed at that meeting here:  In response to our concerns, the university has made some changes to the draft policy. There is a welcome change on wording around performance management, and some movement on the issue of ownership. However, many areas of concern remain unchanged.  You may have seen in a general staff email that the revised policy is now out for consultation amongst the wider staff – the link is here. We’d encourage all members to contribute to that staff wide consultation. … continue reading

Summary of informal member feedback on the senior management proposed changes to the lecture capture policy The general policy on recording and the loss of the automatic right to opt out Significant unease about new point 6: using lecture capture material for performance management. This was by far the most common point made in this section. The caveat ‘routinely’ does not reassure staff and the belief that they are under surveillance through lecture capture is making staff far less comfortable with being recorded. A concern frequently raised is that of student complaints that are unreasonable and/or politically motivated, and the implications for academic freedom. Staff warn that this provision could have an inhibiting effect, making them more likely to lecture from a script and less likely to teach in a more interactive, relaxed and personal manner There is some concern about bullet point 5 and the ability to make recordings available outside of the learning and teaching context in which they were made. This causes anxiety about using captured lectures inappropriately, to replace absent staff, striking staff or staff who have left. Staff believe that lectures are and should be captured for the purpose of teaching a particular course of … continue reading