When you cut pay and don’t tell people before they sign up, that really reduces. “I think that an incentive is really important. “Some people really would just upload right before the exam or even after the exam and almost get lazy with it,” Pittard said. Pittard believes that including some incentives is important to keep note-takers motivated throughout the semester.
For example, my handwriting is questionable, so if it was a math class I’d then type it all up afterwards, which sometimes takes a little time.” “For most classes, it involved making sure I was taking more detailed notes than I would otherwise and then formatting it in a way that was accessible. “I, personally, if it was going to be volunteer, would appreciate more hours being recognized, and at the very least before the semester that it was now a volunteer position.” Pittard said. She raised concerns that uncompensated note-takers might be less motivated to submit high-quality notes. Victoria Pittard, a U3 computer science and biology student, has been a note-taker for two years. The OSD is currently on track to recruit about the same number of note-takers as last year. Despite the lack of monetary compensation, according to Phillips, 200 volunteers have already been recruited. The OSD’s note-taker recruitment begins after the add/drop period. “This would not have been possible in previous years given the prohibitive costs.” “The new model makes it possible to recruit additional volunteers to share notes,” Phillips wrote. Phillips claims that although a small number of students have quit, complaints about the new policy are few and might actually help recruit more note takers. This project should be completed in the near future, with a targeted launch for the Winter 2020 semester.” “Not only do these features specifically address some of the barriers related to attention and focus, they will also be made available to all students. “Part of this reinvestment includes a collaboration with Teaching and Learning Services to add features to the lecture-recording system with complementary note-taking applications,” Phillips wrote. The money previously used to compensate note-takers is now being put toward funding more services for students with disabilities. While some students are frustrated by this change, Phillips believes it is for the greater good. “eer note-taking is often a volunteer service at many other institutions, including the University of Toronto, Concordia University, Queen’s University, University of Alberta, and others.” “ seen, from our peer institutions, that a non-financially driven volunteer model works,” Phillips wrote to The McGill Tribune. A Reddit thread posted by a student about the issue encouraged students to email the OSD to express their frustrations, and encouraged anyone who needed the notes to email the student note-takers directly, since they did not want to cause problems for students with disabilities who rely on the service.ĭirector of the OSD Teri Phillips explained that their policy was changed to follow the footsteps of other schools in Canada. Some note-takers who felt taken advantage of by the sudden switch to unpaid work decided to drop out of the program in protest. Instead, students who participate in the program will now be compensated through the addition of 10 community service hours to their co-curricular records, as well as an entry in a draw to win one of several gift cards at the end of the semester. However, as of fall 2019, the OSD that will no longer continue to be paying any note-takers. In Winter 2019, peer note-takers were paid $50 per class per semester. Each semester, McGill’s Office for Students with Disabilities ( OSD ) recruits approximately 300 students to take notes for McGill courses and share them on M圜ourses as a service to 600 other students with disabilities that hinder their ability to take notes for themselves.
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