Office of Student Life
Disability Services

Notetaking Support

Advance Access to Lecture Slides 

This accommodation benefits a student's notetaking in two ways: (1) students can review the slides prior to class to prepare themselves for the content, and (2) using the slides as an outline, students can focus their notetaking on supplemental information from the lecture. With this in mind, please coordinate advance access to lecture slides directly with students requesting this accommodation.  

Use of Personal Notetaking Technology/Apps 

Notetaking technologies allow students with disabilities to take notes more efficiently. If you have a no-tech or no-recording policy in your course, please make an exception for students with this accommodation. Students sign an SLDS agreement that recordings are for their personal use only and that they are not to share the recordings. They also understand that doing so would be against SLDS procedures and a potential violation of the Code of Student Conduct. 

Peer Notetaking Services 

The purpose of a peer notetaker is to assist students in capturing real-time course content. Therefore, you should only recruit a notetaker for your course if it has synchronous class meetings. Courses that are asynchronous (e.g. pre-recorded lectures) typically present no barriers for students to capture content independently. If a student requests a notetaker for your asynchronous course, please contact SLDS to consult. 

Recruiting a Notetaker 

Once a student has confirmed their request for a peer notetaker in your course, SLDS will reach out to you about recruiting one. 

  1. If there is not already an established notetaker in the class, make an announcement (both during class and via email/Carmen) to recruit one. Please do NOT reveal the name of the student(s) requesting this accommodation.
    • We suggest saying: "Disability Services is recruiting a volunteer to be a notetaker for this course. Being a notetaker is an opportunity to help Disability Services provide equal access to a college education for all students. As a notetaker, you will be responsible for uploading copies of your notes after each class period. You will be compensated either with a stipend $25 per credit hour or with a certificate of your volunteer hours. If you are interested, please contact me ASAP and include in your message if you currently have an on-campus job." 
  2. If you get a volunteer, please reach out to our office at slds-notes@osu.edu to provide the volunteer's information and/or direct them to review and complete the application process as described on our website.
    • If you get no volunteers: please make a second announcement at the next class meeting. If you still get no volunteers, please notify the student’s Access Specialist. They can briefly join your next class meeting to directly recruit someone.