Protect yourself and your students

1. Consider copyright and fair use before scanning or copying

Copying and/or scanning copyrighted material - an article, a cartoon, or even a book - to use in class, or posting such items in Blackboard are common practices. However, doing so without permission from the author could be a violation of copyright and fair use policies.

Faculty are reminded that Auburn University expects all faculty and students to abide by copyright laws. Auburn University will not provide legal support for individuals prosecuted for copyright infringement.

The Cornell Legal Information Institute web site provides information to help you determine fair use. Click on the following links for examples of the kinds and amounts of copying and scanning that could be considered fair use:

Limitation on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use

Agreement of Guidelines for Classroom Copying (scroll about one-quarter of the way down the page).

2. Requiring the use of online material or signing contracts:

Review before clicking "Accept" or signing, and when in doubt, ask

Publishers and the Internet offer countless on-line services which departments and faculty might find useful for educational and accreditation purposes. Some of these on-line services, although user-friendly, are not necessarily compatible with Auburn University's established services such as Banner and Blackboard.

In addition, their service terms and conditions may not comply with Auburn's contracting standards, or they may not meet federally mandated student confidentiality standards of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Faculty are reminded that students cannot be compelled to use a site or vendor that requires disclosure of protected information.

PDF chart providing a general guideline to assist in recognizing and addressing FERPA issues

Use this FERPA checklist to begin the review process; print it and take it to your IT director/manager or to Dr. McClelland in IMG (0015 Haley Center).

Update: October 21st, 2009

If you require students to register at third-party sites, especially if grades are stored on the third-party server, students must use aliases if that publisher has not signed a FERPA-compliance agreement with AU. The following on-line vendors have signed appropriate agreements with AU:

• Advanced Infomatics
• Cengage (includes Aplia)
• Elsevier’s Review and Testing
• Gallup, Inc
• Interactive Point of View
• John Wiley & Sons
• Lyryx Learning INC
• McGraw-Hill Education
• National SocialScience Press
• Pearson
• Pharmacy One Source, Inc
• Quia Corp.
• TypeFocus Internet
• WebAssign

For faculty using third-party on-line material, such as publisher websites: AU now has an easy means of assigning aliases.

SmartAlias, an application developed by Dr. Daniela Marghitu, Michael Fuller, and Ben Brahim, is now functioning through a link in Blackboard. Students will use a link in Blackboard and be assigned an alias. They will register at the third-party site with their aliases and an e-mail address other than their Auburn e-mail. They will access that site with that alias throughout the semester and grades will be stored for that
alias.

SmartAlias also includes forms that allow instructors to match and to reveal alias information using .csv files from the vendor and the Blackboard grade book. Faculty will access the instructor forms from the link on the Blackboard Teach Tab. Included on the Instructor page of Smart Alias is a link to video instructions for using the instructor match grades for by aliases to the User ID information in the Blackboard grade book and how to upload those grades.

Faculty will need to add a link to the SmartAlias system in their Blackboard courses; instructions for adding the link can be found here: http://www.auburn.edu/img/alias/instructors.html.

Faculty should feel free to include this link to instructions for students in their Blackboard courses as well:
http://www.auburn.edu/img/alias/students.html.

3. Entering into Agreements and/or Signing Contracts

Review before clicking "Accept" or signing, and when in doubt, ask

Only those persons authorized may sign a contract committing University resources.

Your college/school IT director/manager, or Dr. Kathy McClelland, Manager of IMG (4-5181) can help you determine whether the service or vendor agreement you're considering is compatible with AU systems and complies with contracting confidentiality and security standards. If it is not, they can help you contact the appropriate people for additional guidance and options.

Use this contract checklist to begin the review process; print it and take it to your IT director/manager or to Dr. McClelland in IMG (0015 Haley Center).

Remember:

Any contract requiring a signature must be approved by Procurement and Payment Services. Follow the procedure established by your department or unit, or contact Steve Ballew, 4-7771.