Student Disability Services (SDS) will help students with special needs obtain class note takers whenever it establishes that this is a reasonable and appropriate accommodation.
Obtaining a Note Taker
The student needing assistance must notify SDS of the need, and SDS will provide a letter for the student to give to the course instructor. The letter explains the student's need for a note taker and requests that the instructor ask for a volunteer from the class without disclosing the identity of the student requesting notes. The request may be made by email or as an in-class announcement. Volunteers are asked to contact SDS directly, giving their name and student ID and indicating the class for which they are willing to provide notes.
If an instructor fails to ask for a volunteer from the class, the student requesting note-taking services should contact SDS; a representative will contact the instructor directly. In some circumstances, it may be possible for SDS to hire a work-study student as a note taker.
Guidelines for Note Takers
Notes must be clear, concise, and appropriate. Typed notes are preferred, but in some cases, clear handwritten notes will be accepted.
Every week, the volunteer will share the notes, the exact method to be determined on a case-by-case basis. In some instances, volunteers will be asked to upload a digital version of their notes to the SDS Canvas page under Discussion Forums. We may also use Canvas groups created for the specific class in which notes are being shared, or ask them to be shared via a Google Doc. Generally, students receiving this accommodation prefer to remain anonymous, and if this is the case, we must ensure their privacy is respected.
Volunteer note takers are compensated by SDS at the end of the semester with a gift card to Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. The amount of the gift card is based on the academic level of the course and the quality of the notes provided.