Who actually “owns” a student’s work?

In virtually every case of created work, the copyright (the legal ownership of the work) belongs to the creator, regardless of registration with the copyright office.   There are a number of fair use exceptions, such as using a portion of a published work in another publication with appropriate credit and the like.  However, the author, even a student writing an essay for class, retains the “intellectual property rights” for his or her work.

Who actually “owns” a student’s physical paper?

When a student submits work as part of a class assignment, he or she voluntarily relinquishes control of the actual physical properties of the work to the State of California.  So when a paper, CD-ROM, painting, musical composition, or computer program is submitted to a faculty member, who is acting as an agent for the State, the faculty member actually “owns” the paper.  The faculty member then transfers “ownership” when and if the project is returned to the student.  Regardless of who actually holds the project however, the student maintains the intellectual property rights to the work contained in that project.

Does a faculty member need the student’s permission to use a work as an example or sample for class?

This depends on how it is to be used and if the student is informed of its use in advance.  For example, an assignment, outlined in the syllabus, of creating a model for class critique clearly implies that it will be a “sample” for other students.  However, if you wish to keep that model for a future class, or even a different section of the same class, permission should be obtained unless such an arrangement has been previously outlined.

Does a faculty member need the student’s permission to use a work as an exercise for faculty norming session such as for practice with essay scoring, grading, responding, and the like?

In this instance, when the work is only to be viewed by other faculty, and with identifying information removed, it is probably not legally necessary to obtain permission, but courtesy and respect would indicate receiving authorization prior to its use.

Does a faculty member need the student’s permission to use a work in a printed publication, professional presentation, dissertation, or other such use?

Because in most instances the student’s work will not have been published elsewhere prior to your intended use, permission must be obtained to use it, with full credit given if so desired.