How Does OLLI Decide what Courses to Record?

Published in OLLI at Duke Newsletter 3.9.2022

Instructor’s Permission 
Some instructors prefer not to have their course recorded and we respect their preference. Instructors may not grant OLLI permission to record their course because the class includes their intellectual property or because they have concerns about the impact on students' willingness to participate in discussion. 

Class Format & Size - Lecture vs Discussion and Active Participation

• Processing class recordings for students to view is time-consuming and requires attention to detail. Because of this, we focus on larger/high enrollment courses. Lecture courses tend to be larger and instructor-centric, where the instructor is focused on sharing their extensive expertise and knowledge.
• As a rule, we do not record small discussions or active participation courses. The primary benefit of these classes is to show up, participate and interact with the instructor. An exception is made for courses where the students can use the recording to review and practice a procedure or process.
• We also want to avoid creating a situation where the instructor shows up for his/her class of 15 -20 enrolled students and only 5 students actually join the class on Zoom. Larger courses are less impacted when 10 or more students choose to watch the recordings rather than attend the class on Zoom. The magic of OLLI smaller courses is the dynamic class conversations and the creation of community in the classroom. If someone is unable to participate in and contribute to the discussion, it is unfair to the students who are attending in real-time and to the instructor.

Impact of Recording on Class Discussion & Member Privacy
Recordings are meant to be a benefit. We don’t record classes where members are likely to share personal aspects of their lives or where a recording might discourage class participation (poetry/memoir/racial equity).   

Why does access to the Course Recordings expire? 
The recordings are available for up to 30 days after the last day of the term. The links expire to make room in the system for the next term’s recordings.  

When do Recordings become available?
Members who are registered for a recorded course will have access to the recording sessions within 48 hours after the live session. Please allow 48 hours before you contact the office about missing links. If you find an issue with a recording link, please email [email protected] with the title of the course and the week number of the recording you're experiencing issues.