Notetakers

Log into the DSP Services Portal:

Select "Notetaker" from the list of available roles:

Submit the requested information (the "Additional Comment" field has a character limit and will cut off after it is reached):

Update schedule, only checking classes you are willing and able to provide notes for:

If you are no longer willing or able to provide notes for a course you previously selected, return to this page and re-submit your schedule without that course(s) checked off.

You will receive an automated email from DSPNotetaking@sa.ucsb.edu (same email address as notes@sa.ucsb.edu) if and only if you are assigned to a course as the designated volunteer notetaker. Due to the volume of applications we receive, we are unable to notify those who are not assigned.

When assigned for the first time, you must fill out the Google Form that is linked in the email within 48 hours of being assigned. You will removed and your volunteer application closed out if this deadline isn't met, as we must prioritize providing accommodations for DSP students with minimal delay.

For all subsequent assignments, this Assignment Confirmation email acts only as a notification to begin uploading notes and no other action is needed.

Upon receiving your first Assignment Confirmation email, you must fill out a New Notetaker Google Form. You will be given the option to choose one of the follow options:

1. Volunteer Hours (equal to the amount of hours spent in class during the quarter)
2. $25/Unit Stipend

Based on your choice, you will be asked to provide follow-up information. For volunteer hours, we need only your Lived Name and how you'd prefer to receive certification of volunteer hours (ex. a digital letter emailed, a paper letter to be picked up from the DSP main office, etc.).

To receive a stipend, you will need to provide several more pieces of information so that DSP Payroll can enter you into UCPath (the university's employment and payroll system), including lived and legal names, mailing address, phone number, birthdate, social security number, and national status.

**Please note, despite appearing as an employee in UCPath, this position is a volunteer position and the stipend is not payment for services. It is a nominal payment intended to cover out-of-pocket costs incurred while volunteering.**

In order to receive a stipend, a notetaker must provide proof that they are authorized to work in the US, regardless of the fact this is a volunteer position. 

International Students: You must provide your passport, I-94 letter, and visa.

All other students: Click here to view I-9 acceptable documents.

You must have the original copies available to show when you are assigned to your first course. The federal government does not accept scans or photos (except for some documents that are provided to international students digitally); do not request that we make an exception. If you do not have the necessary documents, you may choose to receive volunteer hours or decline the assignment.

DSP Payroll will generate the I-9 Section 1 email once you have submitted the New Notetaker Google Form. Complete Section 1 as soon as you receive the email. It takes only a few minutes. 

The email will come from employment.authorization@universityofcalifornia.edu. Please check your spam/junk folder if you do not see it in your inbox within 2 weeks of filling out the New Notetaker Google Form.

Notetakers are directed to verify their I-9 documents remotely. If you would prefer to provide your documents in person, please email Martha Oregel (of CLAS) at moregel@ucsb.edu.

Verifying remotely:

Upon completing your I-9 Section 1, please fill out the I-9 Section 2 Remote Verifier Information Google Form (you will receive an email from DSP Payroll with the link to this form). It is only 4 questions and will take only a couple minutes, so please fill it out as soon as your Section 1 is complete. 

Your verifier (the person verifying your documents) cannot be related to you biologically or legally. Your verifier must be a trusted friend, campus staff, neighbor, etc. They will receive an email from the same "employment.authorization" address you received your Section 1 email from, including a link to provide the documents. This link is valid for only 24 hours after the email has been sent.

Your verifier must upload photos of your entire document(s), including expiration dates and document numbers. There should be no glares; all information must be clearly visible.

Once your I-9 (both sections) has been completed, you will receive two forms from DSP Payroll that you will need to sign through DocuSign on the same day you receive them:

1. Notetaker Responsibilities
2. Oath of Allegiance (US Citizens only)

To begin the process of obtaining your SSN, you must log into UCSBGlobal with your UCSB netID and password. Fill out the request for On-Campus Employment (SSN). Your direct supervisor is Kalli Talafus (DSP Support Services Coordinator), but DSP Payroll will complete all OISS forms, so you should enter sa-dsppayroll@ucsb.edu and list Kim Layman as your supervisor.

More information can be found here.

You must complete this form on the same day you are sent the DocuSign forms (see previous step for information), as the process may take a few days. You will have until the end of the quarter to submit your SSN once you have obtained it, but please do not delay and submit it as soon as you can.

Log into UCPath (if you aren't able to, try again later, as UCPath may not have completed processing you yet).

• Patent: Navigate to Employee Actions > Personal Information > Patent Acknowledgement
• State and Federal W-4 (US Citizens only): Navigate to Employee Actions > Income and Taxes
• Enroll in Digital W-2: Navigate to Employee Actions > Income and Taxes > Enroll to Receive Online W-2
• GLACIER (International Students only): You will receive an email to complete this once DSP Payroll has submitted a nomination form.

Please click the hyperlinks for the above forms (specifically the W-4 and W-2) if you would like more information or instructions on filling a form out. We are not qualified to answer questions about state or federal tax forms.

W-2s that are not requested digitally will be sent in hard copy to the home address you have listed in UCPath.

Please verify in UCPath that the following information is correct:

• Address
• Email
• Disability/Veteran Status
• Gender Identity

Enroll in direct deposit by navigating to Employee Actions > Income and Taxes > Direct Deposit.

Paper checks take 2-3 business days and can not be picked up on campus, as they are generated and mailed from UCPath headquarters in Riverside. If receiving paper checks, make sure your HOME address in UCPath is up to date. If you are not currently in the US, UCPath does not accept international bank accounts and the check will be mailed to you.

As soon as you are assigned to any course, you should immediately go into the assignment and submit your "Electronic Signature". This does not prevent you from uploading notes, but it does allow you to receive the stipend. 

The stipend will be released within 4 weeks of the end of the quarter. You will usually receive it on the first biweekly pay date following the end of the quarter, but we appreciate your patience if there is a delay.

Please note:

• Payment may be prorated for fewer than 10 weeks of notes
• If you hold a paid position on campus, your stipend will appear in the same payment/paystub
• If it appears you have not received your stipend, please check your paystub in UCPath before reaching out
• Email dsppayroll@sa.ucsb.edu if you have not received the stipend by the end of the above timeframe

Click "My Jobs"

Select "View Assignment"

[Note: the above screenshot is out-of-date and "Complete Assignment" is now "Electronic Signature"]

Select the date of your lecture, upload your notes file, then select "Upload." If it asks you for a time, you can enter a random time or the time your class starts. 

CONFIDENTIALITY

Please be aware that all students have the right to confidentiality regarding their disability. When appropriate, inform the professor of your role, but please be discreet. Identify yourself as a DSP Notetaker. Notetakers are prohibited from sharing DSP student identifying information, if that information is available, with anyone except DSP Staff. 

COMMUNICATION

When uploading your first set of notes for each assignment, please include your contact information and let students know when they can expect notes to be uploaded (up to a maximum of 24 hours after class). 

If you have concerns, please email notes@sa.ucsb.edu.

NOTETAKING

• Be certain all notes are legible, clearly stated, accurate, and thorough.
• If you disagree with the instructor on a point in lecture, remember to keep any biases out of the notes.
• Mark salient points of the lecture with stars, underlining or large letters.
• Please define all abbreviations by distributing a key of commonly used abbreviations to your students. 
• You may not upload PowerPoint slides without any additional notes. You must provide notes on the information the instructor shares verbally in addition to the materials included on the PowerPoint. If submitting PowerPoints with annotations, make sure that your annotations are visible, legible, and easily distinguished from the materials already on the slide.
• You may scan handwritten notes using a personal scanning app. When scanning, please make sure that there is no page curling, print that is too light after being scanned, that the scan is not blurry, and that there is no writing cropped out.
• Uploaded notes should be labeled clearly with the week of the quarter, the lecture number, initials and the date of the lecture. EX: “Week 2, Lecture 4, Initials, Oct. 7, 2021.”
• Please also include any class announcements in your notes.
• You are not responsible for collecting class handouts for your student. That is their responsibility.
•  You are only responsible for lecture notes. Do not provide your notes from your discussion section unless we have informed you otherwise. Students are approved separately for section notes, and notetakers are assigned specifically to these sections as needed.
• You must upload notes no later than 24 hours after each class (excluding weekends and University Holidays). If your instructor uploads asynchronous recorded lectures, you must upload notes within 24 hours of the lecture being uploaded.

**All content created and/or produced by you under this contract shall be work made for hire. UCSB shall own and retain all intellectual property rights in and to all such content, and you hereby agree that you will not assert ownership to any content created and/or produced by you under this contract. Further, you hereby agree that you will not email, upload, share the content with any type of file-sharing service, on YouTube or any other media site, or on Course Hero or other crowdsourced learning platforms. You agree to not redistribute content in any way that may have the appearance or effect of infringing on faculty members' intellectual property or proprietary content rights.**

TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Substance Abuse Policy
• COVID-19 Prevention and Training
• Ethical Values
• Ethical Conduct
• Abusive Conduct in the Workplace 
• Discrimination and Harassment Prevention and Response

ADD/DROP CHANGES

Please make sure to update your schedule in the DSP Services Portal when adding or dropping classes. To drop an assignment, uncheck the assignment then click save. Immediately email notes@sa.ucsb.edu to notify us of the dropped class so that we begin searching for another notetaker right away.

ABSENCES

In cases of illness or emergency, please immediately contact both the DSP Office and your students to provide notice of your absence. It is your responsibility to obtain notes for the day(s) you miss and upload these notes to the DSP portal. You may reach out to other students in your class, your TAs, and/or your instructor; every effort must be made to obtain notes for your DSP students.

QUESTIONS ABOUT NOTETAKING

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time. For questions and concerns, please email notes@sa.ucsb.edu.

I-9/Notetaker Processing Paperwork Questions

Q: I don't have my passport/SSN card/etc., but my parents can send me a photo/scan. Is this acceptable?

A: You must have the actual, original documents in hand. This is because the person verifying your documents, be that your chosen remote verifier or one of our staff, is certifying on a federal document that they are actually looking at your document(s) in person. For them to certify this when looking at a scan or photo would be perjury.

Q: Where do I submit my documents for the I-9?

A: Documents can be verified remotely or in person, depending on your preference. If you would prefer to verify in person, please email Marth Oregel (of CLAS) at moregel@ucsb.edu. If you would prefer to verify remotely, follow the instructions you receive from employment.authorization@universityofcalifornia.edu.

Q: I was a notetaker previously. Do I need to submit my documents again?

A: We may need to “rehire” you in UCPath if you took a short work break or resigned previously, but you only need to provide your I-9 documents if you haven't worked on campus in the last 3 years. If you completed UCPath processing with us last quarter, you will not need to do so again.

General Questions

Q: I applied to be a notetaker for my class, but I haven't heard anything back. How do I know if I've been assigned?

A: Due to the sheer volume of applications we receive, we are only able to notify students who are assigned. You will not be notified if you are not assigned, but you will remain on our list of available notetakers in case a replacement is needed. We assign notetakers/replacements throughout the quarter, though this does slow down after midterms.

Q: I was just approved as a notetaker for my class, but it's the middle of the quarter. Do I need to provide notes for the lectures from before I was assigned?

A: Technically, no. Your status as a notetaker is not impacted if you do not upload notes prior to your assignment date. However, we prorate your stipend based on the number of weeks notes were provided, so in order to receive the full stipend, you must provide notes for the entire quarter. Additionally, it's greatly beneficial to the students if you upload all your notes, so we encourage you to do so if you have them. Any previous lecture notes can be uploaded to the portal in a single file.

Q: I did not receive my stipend from last quarter. When will I receive that?

A: Notetakers usually receive their stipend the first biweekly pay date after the end of the quarter; even if delayed it should still reach you within 4 weeks of the end of the quarter. Please first check if you have a paystub in UCPath: Employee Actions > Income and Taxes > View Paycheck. If you work elsewhere on campus, both or all payments are grouped into a single paycheck. If you do not see a paystub, please email dsppayroll@sa.ucsb.edu.

Q: The email I received says this is a volunteer position. Do notetakers no longer get paid?

A: Notetaking has always been a volunteer position. The stipend you receive is intended to cover the out-of-pocket costs a volunteer incurs while volunteering rather than as payment for services. Per UCOP guidelines, DSP notetakers may be provided a nominal cash payment. The Department of Labor defines a nominal cash payment as a payment that does not exceed 20% of what an employee would earn if working on an hourly basis. The 20% threshold represents the maximum possible limit under the definition of a nominal cash payment. DSP aligns their pay rates, per class units, as predetermined by the university.