Policy 81 – Frequently Asked Questions
Revised 26 April 2014
When does this take effect?
The Board of Governors passed the policy on February 20. It comes into effect on the first day of classes for the Summer Term 1 (May 12)
Is the policy retroactive?
The University has confirmed that the policy will not be applied retroactively.
Can I simply be exempted from the policy?
As an employee of UBC you are subject to all of the University’s policies and you cannot be exempted. That said, on April 23, 2014, the Association issued a blanket opt out letter to the University.
What is the legal status of the blanket opt-out letter issued to the University by the Association on April 23, 2014, and will UBC accept that all faculty members are now opted out of Policy 81, unless they explicitly opt in?
As the exclusive bargaining agent on behalf of our members, the Association expects the University to comply with our blanket directive regarding opting out of their policy. Where we determine that they have not complied, the Association will take all lawful steps available to the Association to obtain compliance with our directive. Needless to say where members individually take specific steps to “opt in” to the policy, that is their right to do so and we have no concern with that.
Given the letter sent to the University on April 23, 2014 creating a blanket opt out for all faculty members, do I need to mark any of my teaching materials in any way?
Given the blanket direction the Association has given to the University, you do not have to put anything on your material to prevent it from being shared. However, if you want to, either out of an abundance of caution (or you don’t trust the University to honour the blanket direction), you can mark your material as:
©Your Name. Not to be copied, used, or revised without explicit written permission from the copyright owner.
Do I have to mark every page of a document, or every slide in a slide deck?
You should only need to mark the first page of either. A published book, for example, has only one page marked with copyright information, and this covers the entire book.
Are there other ways to mark my work to indicate whether or how others may use my work?
Creative commons provides guidance on this, and has prepared symbols to express your preference, as follows:
If you want to retain control: attribution-non commercial-no derivative (CC by-nc-nd)
If you are willing to relinquish control: attribution-share alike-non commercial (CC by-nc-sa)
For more information on these creative commons licenses, read a short explanation. The full legal explanation gives more information on creative commons.
