For years, peer notetaking has been the administrative standard for providing lecture access to students with accommodations, and for a small cohort of students, particularly those with profound physical or cognitive needs, a physical human notetaker remains essential.
However, for the vast majority of students currently relying on peers, such as those with learning differences, ADHD, or mild cognitive accommodations, the dependency on peer notetakers is becoming an inefficient, inconsistent, and often inequitable system.
The goal for modern accessibility services is therefore not to eliminate peer notetakers, but to strategically free them up for the students who truly require high-touch human support, while still ensuring all students get the accessibility support they need.
To achieve this, institutions are facing a crisis of scale. With the growing number of support requests, the administrative burden of recruiting, matching, and managing human notetakers drains vital staff resources and creates a "note taking lottery," where the quality of accommodation is often left to chance.
Here, we explore why technology driven solutions, such as Genio Notes, can be used to achieve scalable, high-quality, and empowering accessibility for all.
Why peer notetakers are no longer sustainable
1. Compromised student independence
The most critical drawback is the psychological and pedagogical cost to the student. Relying on a peer can foster anxiety, dependency, and a sense of being a burden, running directly counter to the goal of fostering self sufficient, career-ready graduates.
2. Inconsistent reliability and quality
The quality of a student's accommodation should never be left to chance. Notes are filtered through another student's attention, handwriting, interpretation, and attendance. For a student with a learning difference, a missing page or a subjective outline can compromise their academic success.
Disability services staff often grapple with note takers uploading notes days after a critical lecture, compromising mandated accommodations and forcing staff to chase down documentation.
3. Administrative and financial burden
Managing a peer notetaking program is a significant strain on resources that could be better spent on more impactful areas such as personalized support or mentoring.
Finding, training, vetting, and retaining reliable peer notetakers, especially for niche or evening classes, siphons staff time and budget. Staff time lost on coordination, coupled with stipend systems, creates an unpredictable and unsustainable cost model that struggles to scale with growing enrolment.
Alternatives to peer notetakers
Basic digital note taking tools
The digital space offers solutions that eliminate the reliance on individual peers and replace it with universal, consistent, and empowering technology.
However, while many institutions have started to use basic digital recorders, note taking software or smart pens, these tools merely digitize the capture process.
They offer organization and handwriting-to-text conversion but still require the student to process and write down every key point, often leading to frantic typing rather than active listening.
The real transformation comes from holistic learning tools, designed to empower students' whole learning process, from capturing, to organizing, refining and applying their understanding.
Genio Notes - the ultimate alternative to peer notetakers
Learning tools like Genio Notes don’t just record the lecture; they transform the student's entire learning workflow by focusing on the difference between capturing content and truly engaging with it.
This pivot directly addresses the most critical drawback of peer reliance: compromised student independence. By giving students access to Genio Notes you're providing:
- Audio capture & transcription: Allowing students to listen actively, engage in discussion, and reduce "missing out" anxiety.
- Searchable, structured content: Giving immediate, universally consistent, and reliable access to the entire lecture content. Students can instantly locate key concepts, ensuring they have a complete record aligned with the lecture's timeline.
- Integrated study features such as Quiz Me: Students not only have the notes, but a way to practice active recall directly from them, facilitating self-directed study and moving past passive note taking. This empowers students to master the material independently.
By leveraging technology, the focus shifts to the student's ability to learn and succeed on their own terms. Students become more confident learners, taking control of their education rather than relying on external assistance.
This delivers the true mission of accessibility: transforming accommodation from compliance into a powerful skill that enables all students to thrive in the classroom and beyond.
Our research has shown a direct link between Genio Notes usage and improved academic outcomes:
- Reduced stress: Students report notable reductions in academic stress, particularly those balancing multiple responsibilities (such as working students or parents).
- Improved retention: Regular use is linked to reduced dropout intentions and increased self-reported GPA.
- Increased confidence: Students report becoming more confident learners, taking control of their education rather than relying on external assistance.
Note taking solutions need to move from compliance to empowerment
By retiring the peer notetaker and adopting a learning tool such as Genio Notes, you transform accessibility from a reactive, resource intensive compliance issue into a proactive, skill building infrastructure that prepares students for the self directed demands of life after graduation.
Offloading the labor intensive cycle of recruitment frees your accessibility staff to focus on other areas, such as impactful mentoring and student development, to further enrich students' college experiences.
Ready to move beyond peer notetakers? Schedule a call with our team today to learn how Genio Notes can transform accessibility and academic outcomes at your institution.
