Notetaking Accommodations
Information for Peer Notetakers
Become a notetaker; earn money
Notetakers are students who are enrolled in the same class as the student registered with the Office of Accessibility. Notetakers simply provide their notes to the student to whom they are assigned. The Office of Accessibility will provide you with the necessary materials for notetaking such as carbon copy paper, a copy card, or instructions for uploading notes. It is very easy!
Some benefits of being a notetaker include:
- $100 on All Campus Zip Card Account per class you are assigned as a notetaker. The money will be applied at the end of the semester if all notes were provided to the student within the required time frame. This can be used to buy textbooks, food on and off campus, or anywhere zip cards are accepted.
- Enhance your resume- your participation can be indicated on resumes.
- Example Resume Statement:
Notetaker (Semester and Year)
The University of Akron, Office of Accessibility
Provided detailed notes, weekly, for qualified students registered with the Office of Accessibility.
- Gain satisfaction from helping a fellow student. We’re looking for people who write legibly, summarize the main points, and have the desire to help another student.
- Register Online through the Student Testing and Accommodation Request System (STARS). Log in with your UAnet ID and password and select Sign Up as a Notetaker. You will need to have your schedule available. For more information about signing up to be a notetaker, please visit Registering to be a Notetaker.
- Register with your student ID, username and your UA email address.
- Search for classes and submit your class schedule using the subject, course and section number for the classes in which you are volunteering.
- Read and Sign the Notetaker Contract.
- Verify that your class schedule is accurate and submit the schedule.
For additional questions, contact the Office of Accessibility at access@uakron.edu or 330-972-7928.
You will be notified by email if we have matched you with a potential notetaking assignment. To be hired for the notetaking assignment:
- Confirm the assignment via the link in the email “I agree to take notes in this class, and I am still enrolled in this class.”
- Complete the Notetaker Training and Quiz by clicking on the link provided in the email. It is very easy to complete!
- Contact the student(s) for whom you will be taking notes. Their contact information will be provided in the notetaking assignment email. If a student name is not listed, this means the student wishes to remain confidential and notes will need to be uploaded or brought to our office.
- Have your instructor fill out the Instructor Verification Form and upload to STARS with a page of your notes.
- Sign an Electronic Invoice at the end of the semester verifying that you have provided the notes to the student(s) for the whole semester.
- For peer notetakers of online classes: In online courses, peer notetakers are only responsible for providing notes that cover lecture materials (live or recorded lectures, PowerPoints, or readings that are intended to take the place of a lecture), and do not provide notes covering course assignments or homework materials. Peer notetakers are never responsible for assisting students with homework, studying, or testing.
Information For Students Receiving Notetaking Support Accommodations
Some eligible students may receive a notetaking support accommodation once they have registered with the Office of Accessibility. If you still need to register, please follow the steps outlined here to complete the registration process.
Notetaking Support Accommodations
- Self-guided training (Livescribe SmartPen; Moleskin SmartPen)
- To request an in-person SmartPen training or support session, please email us at access@uakron.edu.
- The Office of Accessibility has a limited number of SmartPens available for students to check out. Students may check out an audio recorder, if needed, to use while waiting for a SmartPen to become available.
- Students with a notetaker accommodation can click here to access more information about student and peer notetaker responsibilities, tips for notetaking, and more.
- Access STARS user guides for students here.
- Students with this accommodation are encouraged to utilize their back-up accommodations, copies of instructor materials and an audio recorder, to supplement their own notes during the recruitment period and if the assigned peer notetaker is absent.
Additional Notetaking Resources for Students
- Notetaking Strategies and Tips for Online Classes (PDF)
- In cases of online courses, the Office of Accessibility will be unable to fulfill an in-class notetaker recruitment due to the online nature of the course. A peer notetaker cannot be guaranteed for online courses, and students are encouraged to utilize lecture recordings and copies of instructor provided notes, to supplement their own notes.
- In online courses, peer notetakers are only responsible for providing notes that cover lecture materials (live or recorded lectures, PowerPoints, or readings that are intended to take the place of a lecture), and do not provide notes covering course assignments or homework materials.