Appropriate Student Use of Class Notes and Course Materials: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester

• Updated: December 2009
• Primary Contact : Suzanne Bardouche: Belinda Cheung

The faculty of the University encourages students to take and share notes in their classes, laboratories, and the many other instructional settings in which they participate as they pursue their education at the University. Taking notes is a means of recording information but more importantly of personally absorbing and integrating the educational experience. The faculty recognizes that collaborative note-sharing and discussion helps students learn.

However, the organization, preparation, and presentation of materials in a class or other instructional setting represent the intellectual effort of the instructor. Instructors have an interest in protecting this intellectual effort and in assuring the accuracy of any public representations of their course lectures and presentations. The classroom should also be a place where instructors feel free to share with students the full range of information available in their subject areas, including results of new research as it is produced, without concern that such new knowledge will be shared prematurely outside the University learning community. Broadly disseminating class notes beyond the classroom community or accepting compensation for taking and distributing classroom notes undermines instructor interests in their intellectual work product while not substantially furthering instructor and student interests in effective learning. Such actions violate shared norms and standards of the academic community.

1. Students may not distribute, via the Internet or other means, instructor-provided lecture notes or other instructor-provided materials, except to other members of the same class or with the express consent of the instructor.
2. Instructors have the right to impose additional restrictions on course materials in accordance with copyright and intellectual property law and policy. (See Board of Regents Policy: Copyright, Board of Regents Policy: Commercialization of Intellectual Property Rights and Administrative Policy: Copyright Ownership.)
3. While students hold the copyright to their own notes from a course, students may not engage in the widespread distribution or sale of transcript-like notes or notes that are close to verbatim records of a lecture or class presentation. Students may share such notes with other students in the same class.
4. The provisions of this policy are enforceable as University rules under Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code.
5. If the faculty of a department or collegiate unit, as a group, or individual faculty in a particular course, have assented to or authorized the distribution of lecture notes or instructor-provided materials, such action does not violate this policy.

Exclusions

This policy is not applicable to the Duluth campus.

One of the advantages of taking classes from faculty who are active researchers in their field is the opportunity for students to learn about research that may not yet be published. If students share the results of this research or scholarship outside the classroom it creates a disincentive for faculty to share this work. The policy also encourages students to take their own course notes rather than rely on the notes of others. Notes taken in a class are intended for students to use to facilitate their learning in a course, and not to provide profit to an individual student, or to be used by students outside of that particular course.

There are no procedures related to this policy.

There are no forms related to this policy.

Broad dissemination

To distribute widely, outside of the confines defined in this policy (e.g. distributing online, distributing to students outside of class, etc.).

Commercial purposes

To make a profit, accept compensation or to benefit through any means.

Express written consent

Obtaining written affirmative permission from a person.

There are no specified responsibilities related to this policy.

There are no appendices related to this policy.

Is it acceptable to share course notes with students who are taking the course in a subsequent term?

Students should only share course notes with other students enrolled in the course during the same semester. The instructor teaching a particular course may change, and notes from a previous offering may or may not be applicable to the current offering.

What does broadly disseminating course materials mean?

Making course materials available via the internet, broadcasting, or using other media that could reach a wide audience.

• Board of Regents Policy: Commercialization of Intellectual Property Rights
• Board of Regents Policy: Copyright
• Board of Regents Policy: Student Conduct Code
• Administrative Policy: Copyright Ownership

Amended:

December 2009 - Policy now applies to Crookston campus.

Effective:

April 2009