Faculty Handbook - Using Note-Takers

For more information on Students and Accessibility Services, please click on this link.

Information on Using Note-takers

Note-taking assistance is provided to some students who have sensory impairments, difficulty processing information, or lack the physical ability to take notes. Assistance may be provided in one of the following ways:

Faculty Accommodations for Notes

Some ways faculty members can assist with notes are to:

Provide lecture notes and/or outlines before class begins or in your BrightSpace Classroom.

Record lectures on Panopto.

Make Power Points available for students who cannot see well, cannot write information quickly, or who request copies of the Power Points.

Accessibility Services coordinators will reach out to peers in the course to see if anyone would like to share their notes to BrightSpace for any students who have the note taker accommodation. Only the note taker and the accommodated student can see the notes on BrightSpace.

Audio recorders

Audio recorders can be effective and permit qualified students to take notes independently. In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, faculty may not deny a student with a disability the use of an audio recorder for notes.

It is appropriate to ask the student to provide:

• Documentation from the Accessibility Services office verifying eligibility to record lectures.

• Signed document defining use of the audio files and the information in the lecture.

Volunteer Note-takers

Whenever possible, the Accessibility Services office seeks the assistance of volunteer note takers who are recruited in the class, usually during the first few days of the semester.

Volunteers may be asked to provide copies of their notes to the individual with the disability and upload them to BrightSpace. Only the note taker and the student being accommodated can see these notes on BrightSpace. This can be setup so the student remains anonymous.

Note-takers and scribes are required to follow a strict code of ethics as part of their duties. In summary, the code of ethics requires that note-takers:

• Keep assignment-related information confidential

• Accept assignments judiciously

• Convey the content directly as given

• Function in a manner appropriate to the situation

• Maintain quality standards

• Refrain from giving counsel, advice, or personal opinions

• Refrain from participating in class discussion or discussing student performance

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