Providing Notetakers

In some circumstances, a student may require the use of a notetaker in class. This would be officially requested through a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form. Notetakers are needed for a number of reasons:

  • Deaf or Hard of Hearing Students: Due to the nature of the accommodations needed for a student with hearing loss, it is very difficult to take notes themselves. Working with a Captionist or an Interpreter requires constant visual contact, making the process of looking down to take notes nearly impossible.
  • Students with Learning Disorders: In some situations, students may have a learning disorder that affects either their receptive skills (listening, decoding, processing, etc.) or their expressive skills (processing, coding, writing, etc.) which make taking notes very difficult. These students are still encouraged to take their own notes in class but use the notes from a notetaker to compare and ensure that they are getting the information correct.
  • Students with ADD/ADHD: For students with attention difficulties, it is very hard to maintain the necessary "split attention" required for note taking ("split attention" is the ability to listen to lecture, process the information, write out the information in the notes, all while still staying up with the material being spoken). For many students with attention difficulties, it is more common that they use "single focus attention" where they will listen to a portion of the lecture, then turn their focus entirely to their notes to write down as much as they can remember, meanwhile, all other lecture material presented while they write is lost.
  • Students with Mobility, Health, or Systemic Disorders: For a student with a Mobility, Health, or Systemic disorder, there may be accompanying fine motor skill loss which makes writing by hand either difficult or impossible. Having a notetaker available allows the student to focus on the material as it is presented in class.

Suggested Procedure for Providing notetakers

(Philosophical Perspective Note: The Disability Services office would like to discourage the practice of paying notetakers. Ethically, it does not make sense to pay someone to take notes in their own class. Additionally, funds used to pay notetakers may be better allocated on the provision of other accommodations. This is not to say that the office is not appreciative of those students who do volunteer to take notes. Disability Services will cover the costs of photocopying notes. In situations where a volunteer within the class is not available, Disability Services is willing to hire an outside notetaker to come into the class to provide the service. In this situation, compensation is for the individual's time that would not normally be spent in the specific class.)

Here are the suggested steps for providing a notetaker:

  1. After you have been requested by a student to provide a notetaker through a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form discuss with the student how they would like to logistically handle the accommodation: would they prefer to work directly with the student volunteer or would they prefer to have the notes go through the instructor so as to keep their disability status confidential. At the beginning of the next class meeting make the request for a volunteer to take notes. One suggestion for how to phrase the request is as follows: "I would like to ask for a volunteer from the class who: takes good notes, has good attendance, and is willing to provide a copy of their class notes to me (the instructor). The purpose of this is to provide a copy of notes to a student in the class who has a documented disability." DO NOT IDENTIFY THE STUDENT - see Legal Responsibility to Provide Anonymity to Students.
  2. Once a student has volunteered, ask the student to stay briefly after class to work out the details. This may involve the student needing the accommodation, if they choose to be identified to the notetaker, or it will be between you and the volunteer.
  3. Volunteer notetakers may copy class notes free of charge at the Academic Support Center, located on the third floor of the Palace Road building.

Considerations

The student with a disability may or may not continue taking notes for themselves. As mentioned above, notetakers are requested in a number of situations, which may not always be clearly apparent.

Notetakers are NOT a substitute for attending class. A student with a notetaker should NOT receive notes for any missed classes. The exception to this is where the student has to miss the class for reasons DIRECTLY related to their disability. Students are expected to maintain clear communication with faculty regarding absences. If a question should arise, please consult with the ADA Compliance Officer / Coordinator for Disability Services.

While it is the responsibility of the student to alert the instructor in situations where there is any concern around the level or quality of an accommodation, it is always a good practice to "check in" with the student shortly after instituting an accommodation. This ensures that not only is the accommodation being provided and used appropriately, but also that the accommodation is appropriate (notes are readable, of good quality, being provided in a timely manner, etc.).