In the latest development in a dispute with broad implications for colleges nationwide, UCLA says it will continue to stream online instructional videos to students. The move comes after a trade group urged the university to review copyright laws and threatened legal action if campus officials did not stop offering free unlimited access to the educational content.
UCLA officials suspended their streaming video program in January after the Association for Information Media Equipment [1] (AIME)—a nonprofit organization that advocates for “fair and appropriate use of media”—said the university didn’t have permission to offer unlimited access to students through its password-protected class web sites.
A university IT official said March 3 [2] that UCLA’s resumption of the streaming video initiative was a necessary stand against opponents of open access to educational resources.
“Course instruction long ago ceased to be bound by the walls of the classroom, and we are obligated to provide students with appropriate instructional content in whatever medium helps to foster an effective learning environment,” Jim Davis, UCLA’s vice provost for IT and chief academic technology officer, said in a statement. “We’re well aware the outcome of this dispute could affect other educational institutions, and it’s important that UCLA take a leadership role and demonstrate just how critical the appropriate use of technology is to our educational mission.”
The university described the temporary suspension of its video streaming as a “good-faith gesture” to keep the issue out of court after AIME said faculty members should obtain special streaming licenses before they use video in their classes.
Arnold Lutzker, an attorney for AIME, says that if UCLA’s streaming precedent isn’t challenged, every college and university in the country could buy one copy of a video and give free access to thousands of students every semester…