Note-Taking Accommodations

Student Disability Resources engages in an interactive process with each student and reviews requests for accommodations on an individualized, case-by-case basis. Students must provide appropriate documentation that supports the use of any accommodation.

Student Disability Resources provides note-taking support services as an academic accommodation for students with documented disabilities. Note-taking services are not to be used as a substitute for attending class and do not lessen the student’s academic responsibilities.

Class Notes Options

Notes are provided to qualified students in a variety of ways depending on:

• Format of the course
• Service availability for a give course
• What works best for the student

Instructor-provided

Some courses provide class notes via a course packet, online, or in Canvas.

Nittany Notes

Nittany Notes is a University Park-based note taking service that has notes for most large courses. If the course notes are available from them, the are provided to the qualifying student at no cost.

Note Taking Express

This service has the student record the lecture and then provides transcribed notes within 24-hours.

Livescribe Smartpen

The Livescribe Smartpen records the lecture while syncing it to the handwritten notes taken by the student.

This method requires the use of the specialized Livescribe Smartpen and special notebooks; both of which are provided to qualifying students at no cost.

Accommodation usage

Students approved to use the note taking accommodation will be directed to a video introduction to the policies and procedures. Then they must agree to the policies and procedures before being able to request class notes for their courses.