I spoke to our Blackboard administrator (also a personal friend) who indicated to me that while an administrator could be "added" to your Blackboard course and then "see" the discussions/chat whatever, that person's user id would show up in the Gradebook and would remain there (in red) even if the access was later disabled.  He asserts that there is no capacity for anonymous "lurking".

That being said, remember that the Blackboard course lingers on your servers for a period of time - probably at least a year if not forever - and if there were allegations that led administration to legitimately need access, they would be able to enter the course and see the postings. (but not anonymously)  Check your blackboard course gradebook at any given moment and it will show everyone who has access now, and had access in the past.  Keep in mind though, that when you copy your course forward for a new semester, the email and discussion may not copy forward, but it still exists in the old course and can be accessed even when it may no longer show up on your Blackboard course list.  In other words, copying forward to a new semester does NOT erase the old stuff.

I have had tech problems in the past and have had our Blackboard techies ask permission to add themselves to my Blackboard course (don't know if this is university policy or just techie etiquette).

Keep in mind that if there is ever a discovery request that asks for all the content of a blackboard chat, discussion or email, the university would probably be required to access the content and provide it.

Our university policy, at least unofficially, is that the university reserves the right to access everything on an employee's computer and server space, if circumstances warrant. And they have exercised that "right" - some years ago, we had a university president fired, at least in part because of stuff found on the hard drive (allegedly).

How it is at NMSU!
Liz Ellis



-----Original Message-----
From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ingulli, Elaine
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 9:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Privacy and Blackboard classes

At Stockton, we use Blackboard for both online courses and for communication with/among students in a face-to-face class.

Several faculty have raised issues of privacy---concerned that administrators might be unduly lurking on their Blackboard chats/discussions etc.
So, the question is: does anyone have a specific policy regarding privacy (or lack thereof) of Blackboard (or whatever system you use) courses? Any experience with people snooping in on other people's classes?

We are a public institution, so I know 4th amendment is relevant--but I'm not sure there is much of a "reasonable expectation of privacy" unless there is a policy saying so. (And then, with Smyth v. Pillsbury in mind, there still might not be!)

Thanks,
elaine ingulli
richard stockton college