Note-taking Basics for Faculty
Process for Implementation of Note-taking Accommodations
- The student must first be registered with the Office of Disability Services.
- Students must request their Letter of Accommodations (LOA) with this accommodation selected to appear on the LOA.
- This will then be listed on the letter that faculty receive as either "Note-taking - Recording Device Only" or "Note-taking - In-person or Recording Device". You have no further obligation at this time other than allowing this service to happen
For students: You must follow up with the ODS through the online request form to alert the office of which type of service they will be using. This will allow the office to set these services up appropriately.
An in-class note-taker may be assigned to your class to record notes. The note-taker will upload a copy of the notes within 24 hours of the conclusion of each class to an online folder. The student can then download the notes at their convenience from that folder. In nearly all cases, the note taker will be a student enrolled in the class, and the identity of students receiving notes is confidential.
ODS and RADR will either provide students with a physical device for recording or a subscription to an online note-taking platform. These tools include:
- Digital recorders
- Habitat Learn's Messenger Pigeon platform
- Glean's platform
Note: If students are using one of the note-taking platforms they will typically be recording the class using a personal device, such as a laptop, tablet or mobile phone.
Faculty/Instructor Opportunities to Create Accessible Experiences
If you are looking for ways to make your course more accessible so that students do not need to request note-taking accommodations, you can:
- Provide students with your lecture notes
- Record your lectures and share them with students
- Post transcripts from online course meetings
- Use note-taking tools yourself and share those notes with the students