Thursday 18-07-2019 - 10:33

At the beginning of this year, after several years of lobbying by successive SU Academic Officers, the University introduced lecture capture. The University and SU have worked together to deliver the capacity for lecture capture in all centrally timetabled rooms.

The roll out of lecture capture was conditional on a review of lecture capture taking place at the end of the academic year, to be approved by Senate which is the most senior academic body in the University. As part of this review, students took part in focus groups to gather their feedback on the process alongside an online survey, which gave students the opportunity to make sure their views were heard.

What came across strongly in this feedback were the massive benefits students with disabilities received from the provision, as many expressed that there was simply no alternative that could meet their access needs. Other students also noted the extra support lecture capture provided them in terms of note-making and exam revision.

The main concerns about provision that were raised were the inconsistency in availability of recordings, both between modules and departments, as well as the lack of whiteboard recording which was seen as a particular challenge in Maths. Both of these are concerns which we would echo and we will continue to lobby for improvements to lecture capture based on this feedback.

The new lecture capture policy, influenced by the feedback gathered from staff and students, was passed by Senate on 18 June. At the meeting, your SU President George and Postgraduate Academic Officer David made powerful interventions on the benefits of lecture capture to disabled students in particular. A major positive change was achieved by requiring staff wishing to opt-out of more than three recordings to receive approval from their head of department, which will hopefully help tackle the issue of inconsistent availability of recordings between modules in the same department.

In terms of the next steps for lecture capture, the decision by the English department to not offer any lecture recordings remains entirely indefensible from a moral perspective when the evidence for the benefits of lecture capture to students with disabilities is so overwhelming. We will continue to work with course reps and students in the department to press the need for a change in the department’s approach to lecture capture.

Phase 2 of the programme is set to look at the quality of the offering, including the possibility of whiteboard recording. The SU will continue to work closely with the University to improve lecture capture.

The introduction of lecture capture and its continued existence would not have been possible without the overwhelming demonstration of student support. Your continued support will be crucial to ensuring lecture capture continues to succeed in the future. If you have any ideas on how lecture capture provision can be improved, feel free to drop me an email on su.ugacademic@durham.ac.uk.