Glendon Accessibility Services provide academic accommodations tailored specifically for students who have self-identified as having a disability and who have submitted certifying documentation. In general, we serve students with learning, mental health physical, sensory and medical disabilities
Our services include: providing information about the University in relation to disabilities, access and accommodation, assisting students with navigating through York University, promoting self-advocacy, developing more effective learning and coping strategies, disability-related counselling, determining and arranging for appropriate academic accommodations.
You should arrange to have a consultation appointment with the accessibility counsellor as soon as possible to discuss the options available to you – this may include arranging for a medical or psychological assessment, being directed to other offices on campus that can provide academic support, etc..
Only if you want to access to services through our offices. Our services include helping you determine whether you require academic accommodations. If you are unsure whether you do or not, we recommend that you register and meet with a accessibility service provider as soon as possible to discuss your accommodation needs.
Class notes are first and foremost a personal undertaking. How one filters, interprets and records information is a critical academic skill to develop, not only to thrive at university but also to use throughout your adult and professional life after you graduate. It is also very personal. Effective notes capture the key aspects of a lecture and can be a useful study aid to refresh the knowledge acquired before and during classes.
Given the personalized nature of the process of good notetaking, we encourage students to develop this skill to the fullest extent possible. We strive to provide you with opportunities to enhance your ability to take notes effectively in class. Many students benefit from additional practice and guidance in how to take effective notes. For students with disabilities, Glendon AWC Centre provides additional workshops and one-to-one consultation opportunities to help you develop more effective strategies that take into account the nature of your disability.
In addition to writing your own notes, there are other strategies that may be helpful to you in absorbing the lecture material.
- Keyboarding as opposed to handwriting; use of a laptop or other portable keyboarding device may make it easier for you to take effective notes.
- Some students find that using a digital voice recorder in lectures, with the permission of the course instructor, can be helpful because they can re-audit portions of the lecture after class both to consolidate their learning and to improve their notes from the lecture.
- Some professors provide access to online notes or PowerPoint slides which are another way to review the lecture content and improve the notes you took during the lecture.
- Various assistive technologies, such as “LiveScribe” and “OneNote”, can be used to assist with the note taking process.
- A peer note sharer may be recommended while you work on refining your own skills in this area.
You should discuss the options above with your accessbility counsellor so that we can arrange for the appropriate level of note taking support.
Students who are unable to take notes on their own even with the support of the assistive technology and strategies above may require a peer note sharer or professional note taker on a more regular basis.
Note:
Despite our best efforts and for a variety of reasons beyond our control (for example, there may be a shortage of note sharers or note takers who are familiar with the subject matter of a particular course)note-sharers or note-takers may not be available. When that occurs, it is not always possible to supply notes from a note sharer or note taker right at the beginning of a term in some courses, or on a consistent basis through all courses.
Whether you were previously in high school or in another postsecondary institution, you are in a different academic environment at Glendon. The recommended accommodations may stay the same, or they may be enhanced, reduced, or altered. Whatever your previous academic context, the program of study, course delivery methods and expectations can, and often will, differ here at Glendon.
If an informal resolution is not achieved by discussing the issues with the Course Director and your Accessibility counsellor, your options include:
- appealing to the Chair of the academic department in which the course is taught
- appealing to the Associate Dean or Dean of the Faculty in which the course is taught or
- consulting with or complaining to the University’s Centre for Human Rights