A STUDENT(S) IN MY CLASS
NEEDS A NOTETAKER:
WHAT DO I DO?
University at Buffalo
25 Capen Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260
(716)-645-2608
www.buffalo.edu/accessibility
Welcome! As an instructor, you may have received an
accommodation memo from a student with this
accommodation listed:
“Peer or Instructor lecture notes”
During this presentation, you will learn what that means
and the process for you to use.
What are Peer or
Instructor Lecture Notes?
• Students will receive class lecture notes through a volunteer
notetaker. Notes will come from a classmate, T.A., or Professor.
• Peer notetakers are asked to take notes during lecture and
submit them at a minimum of once a week to A.R.
• If a peer notetaker is unavailable, A.R. staff will contact the
professor to see if they have notes available to share.
Why are notes provided to students with
disabilities?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws mandate equal
access to education, employment and public services for qualified
individuals with disabilities. In an educational setting, note taking
service may be deemed a reasonable accommodation.
Accommodations are provided to level the playing field for individuals
with disabilities and provide equal access, not to give individuals with
disabilities an unfair advantage.
Who uses notes?
Students utilize notetaking
accommodations for many reasons,
including but not limited to:
· Deafness or hard of hearing
· Blindness or low vision
· Learning disability
· A mobility impairment
· Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Confidentiality
· In most cases, Notetakers should not know the identity
of the student receiving the notes
· Information about the identity of a student with a disability is private,
sensitive and protected by law
· It is very important for the instructor not to discuss this information
with anyone except other course instructors, and/or Accessibility
Resources (AR) staff
Notetaker Request Process
When a student has a notetaking
accomodation, there will be a form like this
attached to the Memo. There are instructions
on how to recruit a notetaker, including a
short “script” to maintain confidentiality.
Please make the announcement in class or
through class email as soon as possible.
possible.
Once the notetaker announcement request has
been made and a class member volunteers,
please give them the bottom half of the yellow
form and they will come to our office.
If no volunteer is found, an A.R. staff member will contact you, the
instructor, to see if you have shareable notes or a T.A. will volunteer.
Remember…
A.R. won’t know if problems or issues arise unless you
let us know. If you are having difficulty, please let
us know as soon possible so that we can support the
process.
We are here to support you!
If you have any questions at all regarding
notetaking, please contact Accessibility Resources
at (716) 645-2608
stu-accessibility@buffalo.edu
Thank you!