Please plan to provide syllabus info on SPIRE with as much information as possible regarding texts, media use, instructor contact information and location when the class is added for registration. ISBN numbers for texts, media links and due dates are very helpful. This information is crucial for Disability Services to obtain alternate formats of texts, captions, audio descriptions, and proper interpreter preparation, which can take several weeks to prepare.
We strongly encourage you to add to your syllabus the Accommodation statement approved by the Faculty Senate:
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to making reasonable, effective, and appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of students with disabilities and help create a barrier-free campus. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please register with Disability Services, meet with an Access Coordinator in Disability Services, and send your accommodation letter to your faculty.
Information on services and registration is available on the Disability Services website (https://www.umass.edu/disability-services).
SPIRE allows you to choose a preferred email address from one of these three types of email addresses:
- Official IT, e.g., [email protected]
- Department, e.g., [email protected]
- Non-UMass, e.g., [email protected]
Please note that if you chose a non-Umass email address as your preferred email address, privacy rules prohibit that email address from getting notifications from our Clockwork system. That means you will not receive the students’ accommodation letters, nor other important updates from Disability Services. Please make sure that your preferred email address is set in SPIRE to be either your Official IT or Department email address.
We are aware that some faculty may have concerns about the use of Genio in their courses and want to 'opt-out' in SPIRE. Before opting out, we ask faculty to consider the following information to make an informed decision.
Genio (formerly Glean) is an assistive technology tool that provides transcription of audio recordings, and provides students with tools to note necessary information, make to-do checklists, and allows them to re-listen to any recorded lectures. Genio is provided as a support tool to help the student develop stronger, independent notetaking skills; it allows students the opportunity to build academic confidence with notetaking while having the recorded transcripts as a ‘safety net’ to fill any gaps in their own notes. We strongly encourage faculty to review our FAQs that address common concerns that faculty raise about the use of Genio and privacy in their courses.
Important highlights about Genio privacy:
- Any student approved for Genio and who requests a user license is required to sign the user agreement contract which prevents them from selling, sharing, or reproducing their recordings. This agreement also informs the student that there may be situations in which it may not be appropriate to record, such as classroom discussions that involve person or confidential sharing. A copy of this is sent to the instructor for informed consent.
- The Genio software prohibits students from downloading their recordings or transcripts. The recording agreement further prohibits users from sharing, selling, or reproducing any material from their courses.
- Students’ licenses for Genio are shut off at the end of each semester and their old recordings expire 6 months from the date their previous license was shut off. Students’ Genio licenses must be renewed the following semester by signing a new recording agreement for their new courses. This helps further ensure security and privacy.
After reviewing our Genio FAQs, if you do not wish for students to use Genio in your classroom, please use the Genio Instructor Opt Out page under your Faculty Center tile in SPIRE. Please allow 3 business days for the student to be notified that they can no longer use Genio in your classroom.
If you’ve already opted out of Genio, the notetaking coordinator will inform the student directly when they request a user license for your course. You do not need to notify Disability Services each semester if you selected "Opt Out - My Course Always" for your course.
Please be aware that if you opt-out, you may still be asked to collaborate with Disability Services to ensure the student has necessary access. Alternative support includes Echo360 recording, sharing lecture slides, providing your notes, etc. It is important to understand that access to Genio may be offered to students as a stand-alone support, or it may be offered in combination with a Peer Notetaker accommodation. Students with Genio as a stand-alone support do not automatically qualify for a Peer Notetaker when a faculty has opted out of Genio, unless there is a demonstrated disability-related barrier to access that would impact the ability to take notes independently.
If a qualified student submits a request to Disability Services to use a Peer Notetaker in your course in addition to Genio or in substitute for Genio, then Disability Services will provide you an announcement to be made in class or placed on the syllabus to assist in recruiting student note takers. DS provides 1 P/F practicum credit or 45 hours of community service as an incentive for volunteers, and handles all administrative set up; simply refer interested note takers to fill out our Note Taker Interest Form 2025-2026.