A. As many people across the university now have the need to contact students remotely (via phone or video-conferencing software), please verify that the person you are talking to is actually the student before discussing grades or any other personally identifiable information. The following are methods that are routinely used by staff in the Record’s Office to verify identities:

• If you are using a video-enabled software and you don’t know what the student looks like, you could ask the individual to hold up their GVSU ID card or a government issued ID card.
• If you are using audio, you can ask the individual several questions to verify their identity. Ask questions that you can verify by looking in Banner SSB, such as:

1. What is your G#?
2. What is one class you are taking this semester and what is the name of your professor for that class?
3. What is one class you took last semester?
4. What is the name of your academic advisor?

In general, avoid questions that a parent or someone closely related to the student would know (major, for example).

A. If students request additional participants (such as parents or partners) to advising appointments or any conversation regarding course performance, it is required that the student fill out the FERPA Permission to Release Non-Public Information. This form is available electronically on the Registrar’s Office website. Students should fill it out, save it and send it as an email attachment prior to the advising appointment.

A. The expectation is that everyone sitting in on a class is formally enrolled as a student. To eliminate unauthorized remote visitors to online/hybrid classes, faculty may include a syllabus statement reminding students that participation in the class is limited to students who are officially registered for the course. In addition, making a statement at the outset of classes is also recommended. Visitors to classes are allowed only with specific faculty permission. If students persist in this behavior, faculty should address this with the student. If it continues, faculty should submit an Academic Integrity Violation report via the Dean of Students Office.

A. Please make such requests to your dean's office; that office will coordinate with Information Technology and vendors, as appropriate.

A. Please refer to the Technology Information website. 

A. Grand Valley has a subscription to Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor, which allows you to proctor tests through Blackboard and from a distance. Information Technology has more information about Respondus on their website.

Disability Support Resources (DSR) can, on a case-by-case basis, consult with faculty on other test proctoring needs, including for non-DSR students. Please note that to accommodate a student with a documented disability requiring more time on tests, faculty can adjust the time allotted for a Blackboard exam for one (or more) students separate from the rest of the class. DSR can be reached at [email protected] or 616-331-2490. 

You might also consider open book exams or other assessment activities that do not require proctoring. Contact the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center to consult with someone on alternative assessment activities.

A. Faculty and staff should reach out to Heather Hardy in IT Technology Supply Office ([email protected]) for all equipment purchases. 

A. Yes. There are several resources provided by the eLearning and Emerging Technologies team including information about building online assessments and proctoring an exam online. When thinking about using Respondus LockDown Browser/Monitor for proctoring an exam, you should consider that students need to download and install the software, and the software requires specific levels of technology on the student’s computer such as a webcam.

In addition, the eLearning staff and Disability Support Resources staff are available to help problem solve individual concerns, and provide recommendations for alternative assessments such as: papers, projects, quizzes, and student presentations as video assignments through Panopto, or shared live through Blackboard Collaborate. 

A. The question of course recordings lies at the intersection of technology, faculty discretion, and FERPA. Face-to-face and online course meetings can be recorded by the faculty member (using the option in Blackboard Collaborate, Zoom or via Panopto, for example) and posted to the specific Blackboard course site. Videos that include student voices or images should be deleted at the end of the semester.

For videos that include students’ images/voices, here are student consent scenarios:

• Student consent (FERPA) is not necessary if those recordings will only be available to students in the same section. This includes sections that are merged in Blackboard due to cross-listing or for other pedagogical purposes.
• Student consent is necessary if the recording is going to be shared with students in other sections.
• If the recording is instructor-only then student consent is not necessary and those recordings can be used in multiple sections.
• If students are part of any course-related recordings (voice and/or image), then a syllabus statement about the recording is required. Some examples of statements can be found at these web sites:
  • https://resourcecenter.odee.osu.edu/carmenzoom/ferpa-and-privacy-carmenzoom
  • https://knowledgebase.cikeys.com/knowledge-base/zoom-session-recording-privacy-considerations/

Students do not have the right to record classroom lectures and discussions without securing prior permission from the course instructor, but do have the right to take written notes (or typed notes on a computing device). There may be some cases where students with documented learning or physical disabilities need such electronic assistance; in these cases, the student would have documentation from Disability Support Resources (DSR), be in touch with the instructor well ahead of time to arrange appropriate accommodations, and have signed an agreement with DSR not to share the recordings. DSR has included other information about such requests in their FAQ for faculty and staff.

Faculty members are encouraged to use their syllabi to indicate whether or not they are giving students permission for electronic recording during class. Past history suggests that Grand Valley students tend to ask before recording lectures. If an instructor is faced with such a request, they can decide what is best for them and their class. They may want to consider what will happen with a student’s recordings once they’re made, and whether additional policies or practices are appropriate – such as requesting that the student turn off the recording device during sensitive classroom discussions or if other students express concerns with being recorded.

To obtain consent to record class meetings, use the FERPA Recording Consent form (located on the Registrar’s webpage under Student Forms).

Regarding storage limits for recordings:

• Zoom
  • Cloud storage is available with no limit per month.  Recording are auto-deleted in 30 days, which can be changed when setting up the Zoom meeting.
  • Recordings under Zoom should be saved to the cloud and directed by faculty to the Zoom cloud storage location for viewing.
  • Please remove recording as soon as possible to ensure adequate cloud storage is available for GVSU community.  Zoom is limited to the overall GVSU cloud storage of 18TB.
• Bb Collaborate
  • No limits
  • No additional costs
  • No uploads, already connected to Blackboard.

A. To set up Zoom sessions correctly to prevent Zoom bombing or gate-crashing: https://www.gvsu.edu/it/zoom-security-254.htm.  Students who disrupt online sessions, or enable others to do so, are subject to sanctions under the Student Code (STU 2.3.3).

During online sessions, students should use the name they have on the GVSU system.

A. For the current guidance on technology, please visit the Technology related information webpage. 

A. Yes. There are several resources provided by the eLearning and Emerging Technologies team including information about building online assessments and proctoring an exam online. When thinking about using Respondus LockDown Browser/Monitor for proctoring an exam, you should consider that students need to download and install the software, and the software requires specific levels of technology on the student’s computer such as a webcam.

In addition, the eLearning staff and Disability Support Resources staff are available to help problem solve individual concerns, and provide recommendations for alternative assessments such as: papers, projects, quizzes, and student presentations as video assignments through Panopto, or shared live through Blackboard Collaborate. 

A. The Business and Finance Department has provided the policy on their site.