Notetaking program helps students do better in class

Student Accessibility Services creates equal access opportunities for students with disabilities by reducing barriers on campus. SAS’s Volunteer Notetaking Program connects student volunteers with their fellow students who need assistance taking sufficient notes during class.  Volunteering as a notetaker is a great way to help your peers, develop academic and professional skills, and bolster your co-curricular record.

Joseph Banash, 4^th year student and volunteer notetaker, says that participating in the program is easy, “I figured I had the notes already so uploading them was no hassle whatsoever”. Volunteers then upload their notes through JUMP to share them anonymously with students in the class who require a notetaker as part of their SAS accommodations.

Joseph first heard about the notetaking program in his second year of studies and found that the uploading process was very easy and that the time commitment was minimal. He explains, “I noticed that it provides accountability for your notes. You’re no longer just taking notes for yourself so I found myself participating more in class, taking more intensive notes, more detailed notes. When I go home I would proofread the notes, make subtitles, everything like that…. but that was sort of part of the study process so I wouldn’t really count that as being a time hassle.”

Participating has lead Joseph to develop good study habits that made him an even better student, but he also noted that being a notetaker facilitated his attendance in class, “Sometimes I could use that little extra motivation to show up to class”.

When asked if he would continue to be a volunteer in his upcoming classes this semester, he simply answered, “one hundred percent”.

SAS’s Notetaking Program is always looking for volunteers, in every year of study, and on all campuses. For more details about how to get involved, please visit their website or email sasvolunteer [at] umanitoba [dot] ca

UM TODAY STAFF