Supplemental peer notes are provided by a fellow classmate who chooses to share their notes with the student approved for the accommodation. Student notetakers are volunteers and are not professional notetakers. The notetaker shares a copy of their notes and SAS shares the notes with the student who is approved for the accommodation.
As this is not an independent strategy, and can vary in terms of timelines and quality, this is not intended to be a primary source of notes. Instead, it is recommended that students use these notes to help supplement other notetaking strategies. For example, this may include the use of specific software such as Glean, OneNote, or Notability and connecting with The Center for Academic Resources to develop effective strategies.
Key Things to Know
- Supplemental peer notes are not intended to be the only source of notes for a student. Availability of supplemental peer notes is not guaranteed for every course, but instead based on students who choose to share their notes.
- There is no required format (word, PDF, etc.), structure, or type for supplemental peer notes. Since the peers are sharing their notes, the format may vary.
- Notetakers are arranged by SAS with the assistance of the professor and can be assigned at any time.
- A notetaker is not a substitute for class attendance. All students should meet attendance requirements as stated in the syllabus unless otherwise discussed.
- Notes may not be distributed, published, or shared by the student at any time.
Student Responsibilities
Students are responsible for…
- Meeting all student accommodation responsibilities.
- Requesting a notetaker for specific courses at the beginning of the semester by completing the Supplemental Peer Notes Confirmation Form (this is sent out by SAS at the beginning of the semester). Notes can be requested later in the semester, but accommodations are not retroactive.
- Accessing notes through Accommodate.
- Communicating directly with SAS about any concerns related to the notes.
Supplemental Peer Notes Process
- Approved student requests notetakers for the course - Even when approved for this accommodation, SAS does not automatically reach out for supplemental peer notes. To make a request for a specific course, the student is required to complete their Semester Request within Accommodate and include access to supplemental notes on their Semester Request.
- SAS reviews this request and reaches out to students registered for the course - Once SAS receives the request, SAS will approve the request and reach out to students in the course to see who might be willing to share their notes. Not all courses will have students who volunteer to share their notes. If a notetaker is not found after the initial outreach, SAS will reach out to the instructor to see if the instructor may be able to recommend someone or follow-up with additional outreach.
- SAS reviews student applications and selects the notetaker for the course - Once SAS has applications for the notetaker, SAS will review the applications and select a notetaker.
- Notetaker uploads notes into Accommodate - The notetaker, once selected, will be able to upload their notes into Accommodate. These notes are shared anonymously with the approved student. If there are multiple students in the course, the same notes may be shared with multiple students.
- Approved student accesses the notes through Accommodate - The approved student can access notes at any time through the Note-Taker Network in Accommodate. It is recommended that students regularly check Accommodate for notes. This is to keep current with their notes, but also to quickly identify any issues or concerns related to the uploaded notes.
Common Questions
As long as the student has reliable access to notes, yes, it is ok for an instructor to assign a class notetaker.
Increasingly faculty are moving towards more inclusive practices by making supports available to all students. One of the ways in which faculty are doing that is by assigning class notetakers. In this case, instead of sharing their notes with an individual student, it becomes a classroom practice that students are assigned to share their notes for the whole class. This ensures that not only the student with the accommodation has access, but also other students who may benefit from the support.
Depending on who may choose to volunteer, SAS may not be able to identify a peer notetaker within a class. Most frequently, this happens in smaller classes where the potential notetaker pool is not as large. When this is the case, the student is encouraged to meet with SAS to discuss possible technology assisted notetaking options. This allows the student to continue to have access to supports.
Any concerns or issues should be shared with SAS as soon as possible. SAS will then follow-up with the notetaker to resolve any issues. In the case that a concern cannot be resolved, SAS will reach back out to the class to select a new notetaker.
No. The notes are shared through Accommodate and the process does not directly connect the notetaker with the student/students receiving the notes. If there are concerns about anonymity, SAS should be notified as soon as possible.
