From CAS, and specifically the Department of Global and Intercultural Studies and the Institute for Environmental Studies:
A Lecture/Dialogue entitled “Mass Migration in the Age of Environmental Devastation,” will be held on Thursday, September 12th at 5:00 pm in the Great Room (212 MacMillan) and will feature two invited speakers — Reece Jones (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa) and Adrian Parr (University of Cincinnati).
Please be mindful when considering material to copy and distribute in your courses. The office will not honor requests that seem to be in violation of copyright law. I hope you agree this sets the wrong example for the student workers who are often tasked with such work. Furthermore, I hope you are not knowingly in violation yourself. From Carla Myers, University Libraries:
In higher education, the fair use exemption found in 17 U.S.C Section 107 is one we can often look to when wishing to make and distribute copies of works to students. When making a fair use determination we must consider:
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
Working through these four factors…
(1) If the course readings are used as part of course instruction and learning then the purpose of the use can be considered educational, which is good.
(2) If the resource being copied is a textbook then it’s scholarly in nature, which is also favored under the law.
(3) For the third factor, the course instructor needs to carefully consider how much of a work needs to be copied/reused to accomplish their purpose and only use that amount.
(4) For the fourth factor, the instructor needs to consider if the amount of the work they are copying is so much that students should instead be buying the work.
There are no specific rules for the amount that may be copied, although you may have heard rules-of-thumb such as 10% or one chapter. The main determination is whether the amount copied could reasonably substitute for the student purchasing the book/source.
The CTE is extending support for all instructors who may encounter “hot-button issues,” especially in their discussion-based courses. They write:
Given recent events in Charlottesville and elsewhere in the US and around the world, those of you teaching courses focused on domestic and global political or cultural issues may experience some difficult and controversial classroom conversations or even encounter classroom incidents of incivility. Of course, the most important stance as a faculty member is to maintain a neutral tone that encourages a trusting learning environment and the respectful exchange of differing perspectives. However, in some cases, setting an unbiased and welcoming tone might not be enough. So, we wanted to provide you with a few resources that may help you and your students make the most of these challenging situations.
Lee Warren’s “Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom” as well as the University of Michigan’s Center for Teaching & Learning “Responding to Difficult Moments” webpage offer some thoughtful ways for converting hot button issues into productive teaching moments.
In addition, there are numerous programs and workshops focused on a wide array of teaching-related topics provided by the Center for Teaching Excellence as well as other centers and offices. The University will be hosting an Accessible Technology Symposium on October 12-13 and an Inclusion Symposium on October 13, both of which are designed to assist faculty in advancing an inclusive learning environment.
Please know that we and the CTE staff appreciate all that you do to promote student learning and stand ready to support you in the classroom.
A memo from Robin Parker; this is a reminder, not a direct response to any new events of which I’m aware:
As you may recall, last year, unknown persons entered academic buildings on multiple occasions to post racist, neo-Nazi, white supremacist signs in violation of University policy. Although no signs have been posted recently, we do want to remind you that unaffiliated third parties have no right to post signs in University academic buildings or elsewhere on our campuses. Signs, posters and banners may only be posted in accordance with University policy and divisional rules.
Physical Facilities staff will work diligently to promptly remove any signs posted in violation of University policy as part of regular building maintenance. If you find a sign posted in violation of University policy, please remove it and send it to me along with the date and a notation of the location where it was posted. My office will be working with the Miami University Police Department to continue to try to identify the person or persons responsible for posting these signs and to coordinate any University response. If you have ANY concerns about removing the fliers/signs, please contact my office.
As far as I am aware no buildings permit the open unregulated positing of fliers and signs. However, if your division does have a designated “open forum” space for faculty, staff, students/or student organizations to post signs (e.g., notices, fliers), you may not remove them based on the content or message conveyed. Divisions may, have polices that limit the amount of time that signs, posters and banners may be displayed (e.g., 2 days, one week). If your division does permit open posting, we encourage the division to review and uniformly enforce the divisional rules governing the length of time a sign, poster or banner may be displayed.
Divisions are, of course, not required to designate any area for the open posting of signs, posters and banners. As far as I am aware most divisions limit use of space to matters directly related to the educational mission of the University (e.g., departmental events, tutoring, sponsored lectures and student activities) and require permission from the dean’s or chair’s office to post a sign, poster or banners on divisionally and departmentally controlled spaces (e.g., bulletin boards).
If you have questions or need assistance in following University policy, please contact the Office of General Counsel at 529-6734. Thanks!