Paying Notetakers

After much thought and deliberation, the following policy for issuing a monetary ‘thank-you’ to Student Notetakers was established by the Office of Institutional Equity. This new policy is based on expert advice and collaboration of the offices of General Counsel, Risk Management, Accounts Payable, Student Employment, and the JHU Tax Office. It is designed to ensure full compliance as well as to create consistent business practices among all JHU schools.

  • Dollar Amount

The dollar amount of the monetary thank-you is based on the student’s year of study; undergraduate notetakers will receive $25 per credit hour, graduate notetakers will receive $50 per credit hour. The method for payment will depend on the student’s enrollment status (school) and citizenship/residency status – please see below.

  • Method of Payment
    • Homewood ODS: Homewood notetakers who are enrolled in the class, will receive a monetary thank-you through Petty Cash Voucher. Homewood is the only campus with a cash window. Should it be necessary for Homewood to hire a student who is not enrolled in the class (non-volunteer), the position will be posted through University Experiential Learning and the student will be hired/paid through University payroll. Hours will be tracked and entered into CATS.
    • Non-Homewood ODS: Notetakers in all other JHU schools will receive a debit card at the end of the semester, once the course has ended. This is regardless of the student’s status in SAP and includes U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident (LPR) & Resident Alien.
    • Nonresident Alien: The following applies to all JHU schools. A monetary “thank you” paid to a non-employee who is a nonresident is subject to withholding and is reportable on Form 1042-S. In order to facilitate this required withholding and reporting, nonresident payments must be processed through University payroll. For specific instructions, each school’s ODS should contact their divisional Human Resource Office; for Homewood students, please contact the Office of University Experiential Learning.