McBurney Disability Resource Center
UW-Madison's Office for Students with Disabilities

Peer Notetakers

Applying to be a Peer Notetaker

A simplified, red cartoon icon of a vertical pencil.Peer notetakers for the McBurney Disability Resource Center play an important role at the university. They provide a copy of their notes taken during lecture and other class activities for students who are unable to take notes due to a disability.

The requirements to be a peer notetaker are:

  1. You must be a current UW-Madison student enrolled in the class for which you are requesting a peer notetaking assignment.
  2. You must be able to take legible, comprehensive, and accurate notes for all components of class (lecture, discussion, and lab, if applicable)
  3. You must be able to upload notes for all components of the class for the entire semester for the lecture you are assigned within 24 hours of the completion of a class. Uploading notes the same day is preferred so that students can have equal access to class materials to study for exams and quizzes.

How to apply to be a peer notetaker:

A simplified, red cartoon icon of a person with a plus icon shown in the lower corner.The first part of the process is to complete a short, online application to let us know that you are interested in being a peer notetaker and which classes you could provide copies of your notes. You only need to complete the peer notetaker application once. If you applied previously, follow the instructions for requesting peer notetaking assignments.

  1. Visit McBurney Connect.
  2. Select the “Sign Up as a Notetaker” button.
  3. Log in with your UW NetID.
  4. Submit the online application.

The McBurney Center will contact you through your wisc.edu student email if you’re assigned to be a peer notetaker for one of your classes. If you have any questions about applying or anything else related to being a peer notetaker, you can email the Peer Notetaking Coordinator.

Apply to be a Peer Notetaker

Getting Your Notetaking Assignment

After applying to become a peer notetaker, you will need to add your courses. If you are assigned to be a notetaker, you will need to confirm your assignments. If you are assigned a course and no longer able to be a peer notetaker, you will need to cancel the assignment. At the end of each semester, you must verify your assignments.

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Adding Your Courses

If you are a new applicant or applied to be a peer notetaker for a previous semester, you will need to request peer notetaking assignments.

Your class schedule will be available in McBurney Connect 24-48 hours after you: complete the Notetaker Application, register for classes in subsequent semesters, OR make any class schedule changes.

  1. Visit McBurney Connect.
  2. Scroll down to and select Student & Notetaker Login button.
  3. Log in with your UW NetID.
  4. Select the Notetaker Icon (image of paper and pen) on the top left side of the page.
  5. Select Previous Term or Next Term to move to the correct semester.
  6. Check the boxes for the sections for which you are requesting a Notetaking Assignment.
  7. Select ADD COURSES.
  8. Check the box next to the course you are requesting a notetaking assignment.
  9. Select your preferred Compensation Type from the dropdown menu.
  10. Read the VERIFY AND AGREEMENT STATEMENT carefully.
  11. Select your residency status.
  12. Type your name, exactly as displayed above.
  13. Select SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST.
  14. Toward the top of your screen will show the message “SUCCESS! YOUR ACTION HAS BEEN COMPLETED.”
  15. We will email you if you are assigned as a notetaker.
  16. If you would like to change your type of reimbursement.
    1. Select Change next to the compensation type you want to change.
    2. Select your preferred Compensation Type from the dropdown menu.
    3. Select UPDATED COMPENSATION TYPE.

Note: McBurney Center will contact you through your WISC email if you are assigned to be a notetaker for one of your classes.

Confirming your notetaking assignments

Once you are assigned as a peer notetaker, you will receive an email for each class asking you to confirm your assignment and complete the required notetaker employment survey. Your assignment will be canceled unless you confirm your assignment within 48 hours.

To confirm your peer notetaking assignment:

  1. On the email you receive, select “I agree to take notes in this class and I am still enrolled in this class.”
  2. A McBurney Connect window will open to the Assignment Confirmation page.
  3. The message, “Your assignment is now confirmed” will be displayed.
  4. After confirming your assignment, go back to the email you received, select “Required Notetaker Employment Survey”, and complete the survey.

You can verify your assignment status by logging into McBurney Connect and navigating to “Notetaker Overview” by selecting the Notetaker icon. If you have any questions, email the Peer Notetaking Coordinator.

Canceling your notetaking assignments

If you drop a class or are no longer able to provide copies of your notes for a course, you will need to cancel your assignment, whether you have confirmed your assignment or not.

If you have already confirmed a notetaking assignment for this course, email the Peer Notetaking Coordinator[email address] to let them know you will no longer be a notetaker for a course you were assigned.

If you have not confirmed a notetaking assignment for this course and the system has not yet canceled your assignment:

  1. Log in to McBurney Connect with your UW NetID.
  2. Select the Notetaker Icon on the top left side.
  3. Scroll down to your list of notetaking assignments.
    1. Locate the class and under the Status column, select Cancel for that corresponding course.

If you cancel by mistake, please email the Peer Notetaking Coordinator as soon as possible.

Submitting your assignment verification

All notetakers will need to verify their assignments in McBurney Connect during the last two weeks of the semester when verification becomes available.

Note: If your assignment gets canceled in the middle of the semester, you will still get paid, but there is no need to verify the assignment.

  1. Log in to McBurney Connect with your UW NetID.
  2. Select the Notetaker Icon on the top left side.
  3. Under the heading SUBMIT YOUR ASSIGNMENT VERIFICATION
    1. Read the AGREEMENT STATEMENT tile.
    2. In the ASSIGNMENT DETAIL tile,
      1. Check the box next to the class you want to verify you provided notes. Note: You can verify multiple classes at once.
      2. Type your address information.
      3. Type your name in the E-Signature, exactly as displayed above.
  4. Click SUBMIT ASSIGNMENT VERIFICATION under the statement, “I verify that I have fulfilled my notetaking responsibilities.”
    1. A copy of the signed invoice will be emailed to your WISC email.

Guide to Being a Peer Notetaker

Now that you have been hired as a peer notetaker and you have verified your assignments, we have tips to help you succeed. Whether you need tips for taking notes, uploading your notes, or converting your notes, we’ve got you covered.

Tips for Notetaking

  • Decide which notetaking style (e.g., Cornell method, outlining, mapping, etc.), would be most effective for the course content.
  • Typed notes are the preferred method for most lectures.
  • For a clear scan when taking handwritten notes, only use the front side of the paper. Do not write on the back or use a black or blue pen.
  • Include course title, number, and date of the notes in the top left corner of every page of notes.
  • Include the page number on the right corner of every page of notes.
  • Include any information the instructor indicates will be on the exam.
  • Include notes from videos or other media outlets that contain information for which students will be evaluated.
  • Include information on the board, from overheads, and PowerPoint presentations. Although the slides may seem complete, all additional lecture information and class discussion should be included.
  • Include notes on any assignments given or dates for upcoming exams, papers, or other evaluative material on the first or last page of notes.
  • If there were no notes for a particular class meeting, write the following along with the reason for no notes: “No notes for the class on 11/14/2024. Instructor dismissed class for library research.”
  • Listen for indicators during class such as: Summaries, Hypotheticals, Recurring Themes, Emphasis, Numbered Lists, Questions and Responses.

An icon of a text bubble with a pencil writing inside.Uploading Notes to McBurney Connect

  1. Log in to McBurney Connect with your UW NetID.
  2. Select the Notetaker Icon on the top left side.
  3. Under ASSIGNMENTS, select Upload and View Notes. NOTE: The maximum allowable file size is 30 MB per upload. You will get an unspecified error message if you exceed 30 MB.
  4. Under the heading FILE INFORMATION,
    1. Select the class for which you are uploading notes from the drop-down menu.
    2. Select the week of the term and the day of the lecture for which the notes have been taken.
    3. Select “Choose File” and then locate the notes on your device. Learn about the Acceptable File Types.
  5. Verify that the information you provided, including the file, is correct.
  6. Select Upload File.

You can verify that notes were successfully uploaded if the message “SUCCESS! YOUR ACTION HAS BEEN COMPLETED” is displayed.

Converting Handwritten Paper Notes to PDF files

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Scanning with a computer or photocopier (preferred)

  1. Scan using a computer (list of Campus InfoLabs) or photo copier (list of UW libraries with photocopiers).
  2. Use 150 to 300 dpi as resolution.
  3. Save or to hard drive.
  4. Upload to McBurney Connect via any browser.
  5. Back up to Box or Google Drive.

Scanning with iPhone or iPad

Use iOS Photos App to export to PDF (Detailed instructions for exporting iOS photos as PDF)

  1. Take photos of your notes.
  2. In Photos, select the multiple photos to use.
  3. Use the Share button to Print.
  4. In Print, use pinch to zoom on the preview thumbnail to convert to PDF.
  5. Press the Share button that appears.
  6. Press “Save to Files”.
  7. Save to Phone, Box App, Google Drive App or iCloud.
  8. Log into McBurney Connect from Safari and upload.

Microsoft Office Lens App for iOS

  1. Take photos of your notes (high contrast background recommended for auto cropping & keystone correction).
  2. Save to PDF, OneDrive, or OneNote.
  3. Log into McBurney Connect from Safari and upload.

TurboScan App for iOS

  1. Take photos of your notes.
  2. Edit the photos (to adjust for keystone, color).
  3. Save to Box App, Google Drive App or iCloud.
  4. Log into McBurney Connect from Safari and upload.

Scanning with Android

Microsoft Office Lens App for Android

  1. Take photos of your notes (high contrast background recommended for auto cropping & keystone correction).
  2. Save to PDF, OneDrive, or OneNote.
  3. Log into McBurney Connect from Chrome and upload.

Google Drive App for Android

  1. Press “+” button to “Create new”  > “Scan”.
  2. Take photo and then press the check-mark button to confirm or the undo button to retake.
  3. Press the “+” button to keep adding pages.
  4. Press the check-mark button when done.
  5. Save to Google Drive.
  6. Log into McBurney Connect from Chrome and upload.

TurboScan App for Android

  1. Take photos of your notes.
  2. Edit the photos (to adjust for keystone, color).
  3. Save to locally or to Google Drive App.
  4. Log into McBurney Connect from Chrome and upload.

Getting Paid as a Peer Notetaker

A simplified, red cartoon icon of a dollar bills.Peer notetakers with the McBurney Disability Resource Center can choose to be paid, or they have the option to serve as a volunteer. Payment is generally made six weeks after the end of the semester via direct deposit and is paid in a single lump sum.

Volunteers will receive a letter verifying the number of hours volunteered as a peer notetaker within the 1st week of the semester ending.

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How to receive payment as a paid peer notetaker:

Peer notetakers are employed as student hourlies and are paid a lump sum of $125 per class (minus any state and federal payroll taxes). Payment is made about 6 weeks after the end of the semester via direct deposit. If the class is dropped or notes are no longer needed, payment is prorated (classes that don’t follow the standard 15-week semester are paid in a similar, prorated fashion).

Peer notetaker reimbursement

  • 1–3 Weeks: $25
  • 4–6 Weeks: $50
  • 7–10 Weeks: $75
  • 11–14 Weeks: $100
  • 15 Weeks: $125

How to receive payment for students not currently employed by UW-Madison:

If you are NOT currently employed by UW-Madison and accept a notetaking assignment, you must complete the student employee hiring process as soon as possible. You will be considered a volunteer until you complete the student employee hiring process.

Student employee hiring process for all notetakers who are not current UW-Madison employees:

  1. Schedule a 30-minute I-9 appointment
    1. You will be directed to schedule an appointment via Doodle at the end of the employment survey.
    2. Appointments are held in-person at the McBurney Disability Resource Center (702 W. Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53715).
  2. Bring your original documents to the I-9 appointment
    1. Acceptable I-9 documents – You will need to provide either one documents in List A or one document in List B in combination with one document in List C.
    2. Note: I-9 supporting documents must be original and unexpired.  No copies will be accepted.
    3. Note: Even if you provided I-9 supporting documents to a previous UW-Madison employer and they have not expired, the McBurney Center is required to re-verify your identity by examining the original documents.
  3. Check MyUW 3–5 days after completing your I-9 appointment for the “Payroll Information” app. Once you have been entered in the HRS system, the “Payroll Information” app will appear in MyUW with buttons for “Update Direct Deposit” and “Update W4”
    1. Visit the HR site for more info on completing the direct deposit information and submitting your Federal and State W-4 forms
    2. Note: Failure to submit accurate direct deposit information may delay payment or result in issuance of payment via a US Bank Focus Card.
  4. Sign your invoice near the end of the semester: You will receive an email notifying you that your invoice is available for you to sign online in McBurney Connect.

International Students: Complete these additional steps

  1. You must apply for a social security number if you are working in the United States. The McBurney Center will provide you with the necessary Offer of Employment letter after you complete your I-9 appointment.
  2. Update your Glacier account. A Glacier account will be automatically generated once you have submitted your W-4 form and you are entered in the HRS system. For more information on Glacier, visit the Payroll Services website.

Instructions to check in on payments

Payment is generally made six weeks after the end of the semester via direct deposit. Students with other campus jobs will have their notetaking payment added to their usual payroll check.

Students can check on their payment by going to MyUW, locating the “Payroll Information” app and opening the “Earning Statements” button. The Notetaker payment will be listed as “Student Hrly Lump Pmt.”

Contact the Notetaking Payment Coordinator with questions or issues.

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