Accommodations at ACC

Genio is an online note-taking and study platform designed to help students capture, organize, and review information from their courses. Genio includes tools for audio recording, note taking, importing and annotating lecture slides, transcription, and organizing information for later review.

Rather than requiring a student to simultaneously listen, process information, and create complete written notes during class, Genio allows the student to capture information in real time and return to important portions of the class later.

Depending on the features available through ACC’s Genio license, students may also have access to tools that help them organize and review their course content, such as transcripts, outlines, study notes, and quizzes.

Audio recording may be an important access tool for students whose disabilities affect their ability to simultaneously listen, process information, and take comprehensive notes during class.

Genio provides students with a dedicated educational platform for using audio recordings as part of the note-taking and learning process rather than relying on a general-purpose recording application.

Genio also provides security and data privacy measures for information stored within the platform and includes tools specifically designed to support learning and engagement with course material.

Depending on the features available through ACC’s Genio license, these tools may allow students to:

• Capture audio and written notes together in one location;
• Import and annotate lecture slides and other course materials;
• Identify and return to important portions of a class recording;
• Organize and refine notes after class;
• Create study materials from captured course content;
• Use transcription and other tools to review information that may have been missed in real time; and
• Customize aspects of the note-taking environment to support attention, organization, and learning.

Genio is provided as an accommodation to eligible students through Student Accessibility Services (SAS).

SAS determines reasonable accommodations through an individualized, interactive process that considers the student’s self-report, disability documentation, functional limitations, and the barriers the student experiences in the educational environment.

If audio recording using Genio is approved as an accommodation, the student must request the accommodation for the applicable course through the AIM Student Portal. The student’s instructor is notified of approved accommodations through the student’s Faculty Notification Letter (FNL).

Students who believe they may need this accommodation but have not yet been approved should contact Student Accessibility Services to discuss their access needs.

No. Recordings made as a disability-related accommodation are intended for the student’s personal educational use in the course.

Students should not distribute, post, publish, sell, or otherwise make class recordings or transcripts available to other individuals. This includes sharing recordings with other students, regardless of whether those students are enrolled in the same course.

Students should also not publish or publicly quote material captured through the recording accommodation without appropriate permission from the speaker and in accordance with applicable ACC policies, academic standards, and copyright requirements.

Students should use recordings created through this accommodation only within the parameters established by Student Accessibility Services and ACC’s implementation of Genio.

Features related to downloading, exporting, or sharing content may depend on the version of Genio and the settings available through ACC. Regardless of the technology available, the accommodation does not authorize students to distribute class recordings or transcripts to others.

Class recordings should be retained only as long as they are needed for the student’s academic work in the course.

Students using this accommodation are expected to delete recordings when they are no longer needed for their educational use, typically after completion of the course and related academic work.

Students approved for an audio recording accommodation are expected to use recordings responsibly and only for their own educational access.

Students using this accommodation are expected to:

• Use the approved recording method identified by Student Accessibility Services for the accommodation;
• Use recordings and transcripts only for personal study, note taking, review, and preparation related to the course;
• Not release, post, publish, share, sell, or otherwise distribute recordings or transcripts to another person;
• Respect the privacy of instructors, classmates, guest speakers, and others whose voices or information may be captured;
• Delete recordings when they are no longer needed for academic purposes, typically after completion of the course;
• Follow ACC requirements regarding academic integrity, intellectual property, copyright, privacy, and appropriate use of course materials; and
• Pause recording when appropriate and when directed during portions of a class involving personal or sensitive information that is not appropriate to record.

The audio recording accommodation provides access to course information; it does not provide permission to publicly distribute or repurpose course recordings.

Faculty may provide a general notification that class sessions may occasionally be recorded for accessibility purposes. Any such notification should protect the privacy of the student receiving the accommodation and should not identify the student using the recording accommodation.

Faculty who would like to include a general statement in their syllabus or make an announcement to the class may use language such as:

“This course may be audio recorded at times for accessibility purposes. Students using an approved recording accommodation are expected to use recordings only for their personal educational access and may not share, distribute, or publish those recordings.”

Faculty should not ask a student with an approved accommodation to identify themselves to the class or disclose the student’s disability or accommodation status to other students.

ACC recognizes that some courses include discussions involving sensitive topics, personal experiences, self-disclosure, confidential information, or other material for which instructors may have concerns about recording.

An approved recording accommodation generally should not prevent a student from accessing instructional content. However, there may be limited circumstances in which a particular portion of a class discussion is not appropriate to record.

For example, if an activity involves significant personal disclosure and the information is not material that students would ordinarily be expected to capture in their notes, an instructor may make a general announcement asking all students to pause note taking and recording during that portion of the discussion.

Faculty should avoid singling out the student receiving the accommodation. If an instructor anticipates that the nature or format of a course may create recurring concerns about implementation of the accommodation, the instructor should contact Student Accessibility Services to discuss how to maintain the student’s access while addressing the essential requirements and circumstances of the course.

Genio maintains security and data protection practices designed to protect information stored through its platform.

According to Genio, content created by users, including audio recordings and electronic notes, may be stored locally on the user’s device and uploaded to Genio’s cloud storage. Genio publishes additional information regarding its security practices, data storage, compliance standards, and protections on its website.

Learn more about Genio’s data security practices.

According to Genio, it does not sell or rent user data. Genio also states that it does not allow third-party providers to use Genio user data to train their artificial intelligence models.

Genio does include AI-supported features within its platform. These features are intended to help students work with their own learning content, such as organizing information, creating study materials, or reviewing recorded course content.

Because technology and AI features continue to evolve, students and faculty may review Genio’s current security and AI information for the most up-to-date information about its practices.

Review Genio’s current security and artificial intelligence information.

Yes. Audio recording may be an appropriate auxiliary aid or accommodation for a student with a disability when disability-related limitations create barriers to accessing information presented during class.

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended, colleges are responsible for providing qualified students with disabilities equal access to their programs and activities. Reasonable accommodations and auxiliary aids are determined based on the individual student’s disability-related needs and the educational context.

At Austin Community College, Student Accessibility Services is responsible for engaging students in the interactive process and determining reasonable academic accommodations.

Faculty should contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) if they have concerns about how an approved recording accommodation applies within a particular course, class activity, or instructional environment.

Accommodations should not be denied, discontinued, or modified independently by an instructor after the accommodation has been approved and communicated through a student’s Faculty Notification Letter.

SAS can consult with the instructor to better understand the specific concern, the nature of the course or activity, the essential requirements involved, and the student’s disability-related access needs.

This collaborative process allows ACC to consider faculty concerns while also ensuring that the College meets its responsibility to provide students with disabilities equitable access to its programs and activities.

Questions about implementing this accommodation? Contact Student Accessibility Services for consultation.

To ensure academic integrity, it is imperative to distinguish an approved accommodation from a standard “cheat sheet.”

• Memory Aid: A cue card, mind map, or acronym list that triggers the recall of previously learned information. It does not contain answers, full sentences, or complete explanations. It only serves as a tool to unlock cached information that a student understands but cannot readily retrieve due to a documented disability.
• Formula Sheet: A document containing specific mathematical, chemical, or statistical formulas. It includes the symbols and equations necessary to solve problems but does not include step-by-step instructions, worked-out examples, or definitions of terms unless explicitly permitted by the instructor.
• Fundamental Alteration: A change that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the course, curriculum, or learning objectives (e.g., allowing a memory aid in a course where the explicit learning objective is rote memorization of definitions).

Memory aids and formula sheets are two distinct accommodations. Your student may be approved for one or both depending on their individual disability-related needs.

1. Documentation: The student must register with SAS and be approved for the accommodation(s).
2. Case-by-Case Review: SAS will review the documentation and speak with the student to determine if a memory aid or formula sheet is a reasonable accommodation.
3. If approved, the accommodation will be listed on the student’s official Accommodation Letter. Students are responsible for proactively communicating with an instructor when this accommodation may be necessary in a particular course.

Unless otherwise specified by the instructor or SAS, approved memory aids and formula sheets must adhere to the following:

• Size: Maximum of one side of a standard index card (3×5) or one side of an 8.5x 11 sheet of paper (see Testing Center Policies)
• Format: Can be typed or handwritten. Font size must be legible (typically 10pt or larger).
• Content Restrictions:
  • No full sentences or paragraphs;
  • No specific exam answers, definitions, or sample/worked-out problems;
• Source Material: All initial content should be generated by the student, reflecting their own synthesis of the material prior to the exam. 

• Faculty Consultation: Students should meet with the instructor of a course in which they feel they need access to this accommodation. Ideally, students will proactively communicate their needs and discuss the appropriate use of the accommodation at the start of each semester.
• Submission for Review: Submit the proposed memory aid or formula sheet to the instructor for approval at least five (5) business days prior to the exam. Flexibility may be required in certain situations. For example, if an exam is scheduled for Thursday, but on Tuesday, the class is still covering content that may need to be included on the formula sheet/memory aid, five (5) business day notice may not be possible. 
• Compliance: Do not bring unauthorized materials to the testing center. Using an unapproved sheet constitutes an academic integrity violation. Students must submit the memory aid/formula sheet with their exam if testing in the testing center.

• Review and Collaboration: Review the student’s drafted aid in a timely manner. Faculty may remove content that directly gives away answers or violates the core learning objectives of the exam.
• Constructive Feedback: If a draft is rejected, the instructor must clearly explain why (e.g., “This includes a fully worked-out problem”) and allow the student to revise it before the exam.
• Securing Content: Once approved, the faculty member should sign, initial, or digitally approve the sheet and ensure it is delivered directly to the testing center, scanned and submitted to SAS Testing, or handed to the student at the start of the exam.

Once approved, the faculty member should sign, initial, or digitally approve the sheet and ensure it is delivered based on the setting of the exam:

• The Student is testing in the Classroom – Discreetly hand the sheet to the student at the start of the exam.
• The Student is testing at a Campus Testing Center – Submit via AIM, email [email protected], email the campus testing center, and/or drop off at the campus testing center.
• The Student is testing online with an SAS Proctor – Submit via AIM and/or email [email protected].
• The Student is testing online independently (e.g., Respondus and/or Respondus with Monitor) – Email the sheet to the student and copy the student’s Advocate.
  • If a student is testing via Respondus with Monitor with a memory aid, the software will flag the student for using the approved sheet. If this will cause issues for the student, the student might need to test with an SAS Proctor. 
  • Some students approved for memory aids may need access to the sheet digitally, and a lockdown browser may prevent the student from accessing the memory aid. 
• If the format/testing environment is not listed above, please contact [email protected] for further assistance.

Consultation: Assist faculty and students in resolving disagreements regarding what constitutes a “fundamental alteration” versus a reasonable cue.

If an instructor believes that allowing a memory aid or formula sheet would fundamentally alter the academic standards or objectives of their course, they cannot unilaterally deny the accommodation.

The instructor must immediately contact SAS to initiate a collaborative review. A definitive decision will be made based on whether the course objective is measuring the recall of facts/formulas itself, or the application of those facts/formulas to solve complex problems. If recall is the core objective, the accommodation may be adjusted or alternative accommodations may be explored.

Q: My exam is multiple-choice format, do I still need to approve a memory aid or formula sheet?

A: Yes, if the student who is approved for this accommodation requests access to it on a multiple-choice exam, the document should be approved.

Q: I allow students a cheat sheet; does that cover this accommodation?

A: An instructor’s approval for all students to access a cheat sheet may meet this accommodation. The cheat sheet may contain more information than what is listed above within the standards for memory aids and formula sheets, but not less. 

Q: My exams are open note/open book; would this cover the accommodation?

A: Open note exams generally meet this accommodation. However, open book exams generally do not meet this accommodation, as the student is charged with reviewing a potentially large amount of information in a short amount of time, which may exacerbate their disability-related barriers to access.