Note Takers
Become a Peer Assistant Leader (PAL) for Student Success!
As a PAL note taker, you will become a Peer Academic Leader for Student Success. Peer Academic Leaders (PALs)are UM students who tutor and/or assist the Student Success staff with events and special programs such as Student Success Open House, Mid-Term/Finals tutoring promotion, Learning Center promotions, Career Services, Note taking as well as serving as Student Success Office Assistants. All PALs serve on a volunteer basis.
PAL note takers are current UM students who volunteer to provide their class notes for courses in which they are already enrolled, and in which a request for Note Taking services has been made. Notes provide support to UM students with documented disabilities.
Becoming a PAL Note Taker is a rewarding way to become more involved in the UM community. Not only do a PAL Note Taker’s services provide support to their classmates, but also enriches the Peer Note Taker’s experience in the classroom by encouraging more thorough, quality notes. Volunteering as a Peer Note Taker is also a great resume builder and provides the opportunity to gain invaluable transferrable skills.
If you are interested in becoming a PAL Note Taker, please complete the PAL Note Taker Form and submit your enrolled courses and upload a sample of your notes. UM students may view your sample notes and select you as their PAL Note Taker for a course. Once you are selected, you will a notification to begin submitting your course notes following each lecture.
Note Taker Expectations
It is important to the success in your role as a PAL Note Taker that you maintain open communication with the Note Taking Program. Please check your email at least once per day and respond to any communication from the Note Taking Program.
Attendance is a must! You are required to attend every scheduled class session for the course in which you are registered to take notes. If you miss a class, it is your role as a PAL Note Taker to get the notes, of the same or better quality, from someone else in the class (i.e. friend, peer, TA) for the missed class session and submit them as you normally would.
If you will need to miss class for an extended period of time, please inform the Note Taking Program in advance of your absence, or as soon as possible, so that a substitute Note Taker may be put in place prior to your leave
We also ask that you attend any supplemental instructions sessions and take notes whenever your schedule allows. If there is a review session or supplemental instruction session scheduled and you are unable to attend, please let the Note Taking Program know ahead of time, so that we may find another Note Taker to provide notes for that session.
PAL Note Takers must take clear, accurate, detailed/thorough and legible notes.
Some guidelines of what the Note Taking Program expects:
Notes should be typed, if possible. You may receive a specific request to type notes, in which case this is required. (Some classes, i.e. math or chemistry, may be formula/drawing intensive and may not allow for typed notes; this is okay!)
Notes should include:
• Key points, descriptions of concepts in your own words, diligent notation of anything the professor writes on the board, and any other pertinent information presented. This includes any homework assignments, upcoming exam reminders and/or review sessions, etc.
• If symbols and/or abbreviations are used, they must be described in a key.
• Notes are expected to be submitted in a timely manner, ideally following each class session; at minimum once per week.
On days when there are no notes (i.e. class was cancelled, exam, etc.) the Note Taker is expected to send an email or upload informing the Note Taking Program of the missing notes with explanations.
• Login to MyUM/Canvas and follow the instructions to submit notes. For handwritten notes, please visit the Student Success Building located behind Weaver Hall, to manually scan notes to yourself for upload.
• Photos of individual notes pages are not acceptable, therefore handwritten must be scanned and submitted as one document per lecture date, not as individual uploads with the same date – please type notes or stop by to scan! This aids in ease-of-access as it creates one concise document corresponding with the lecture date. It also cuts down on the amount of time you will spend uploading documents!
• In the event that a PAL Note Taker drops or withdraws from a class, for any reason, it is expected that the Note Taker will inform the Note Taking Program, as soon as possible, so that a replacement Note Taker may be put in place.
Incentives
• Community Service Credit
• PAL Note Takers are eligible to receive community service credit for each course in which they are registered and selected by a student as their note taker. Community service credit will be awarded via certificate at the end of each semester and is contingent on thorough and timely notes submission throughout the entire semester.
• Following the completion of a minimum of four (4) successful semesters providing notes, PAL Note Takers will become eligible to receive a community service pin to wear with their Commencement regalia.
• PAL Note Takers are also eligible for other fun incentive opportunities announced via email throughout the semester.
Please use this form to apply to become a PAL Note Taker.
As a PAL Note Taker for Student Success, you will work closely with the Student Support Services Office assisting students with disabilities. We require that you adhere to all ethical standards, which respect the confidentiality of the students served and comply with all policies and procedures of Student Support Services. By filling out and signing this form electronically, you are agreeing to the terms of ethical standards as set forth by the Student Support Services Office and all University of Mobile standards and policies.
