Who Owns Course Content?

Some faculty members have asked who owns course content, including recorded lectures. The Faculty Senate Office obtained the answer to this question from the Center for Academic Innovation. Faculty retain the copyright of any content they create for any for-credit courses this academic year whether those classes are in person, online, or a mix of both. SPG 601.28 governs this question. The default rule would normally require that course content created by faculty in connection with their University responsibilities be owned by the University. However, the SPG provides for the grant of ownership from the University to the faculty as “scholarly works” under the policy.