StelliesNotes.co.za website offers free Stellenbosch study notes

Challenges facing students are many and varied; from too much work to too little sleep and the pinch of a student budget. Finding oneself sitting a few days before an important examination without sufficient notes on the subject is probably at the very top of student trials. A group of Stellenbosch University students have come together to find a collective solution to this perpetual problem.

StelliesNotes.co.za went live on 19 August and has had a great response from students already. The concept behind the collaborative effort is that students upload the study notes they have made to the StelliesNotes website where other students are then able to download them for free. The creator of the site, who asked not to be named, said that the site is not affiliated to Stellenbosch University. “The University has no part or involvement in this project, nor have they given any permission to do so. However I don’t see why the University needs to sanction something like this.”

Despite this, however, they maintain the work found on the site is reliable, but students should not use the StelliesNotes resources instead of their existing work. “The documents on StelliesNotes cannot replace the use of an official text book of lecture slides; however they can be an added source of information when studying.” The notes found on the website are used at the downloaders’ discretion. “StelliesNotes.co.za does not take any responsibility for lack of accuracy in the notes. The uploading and downloading of notes is done at the users’ own will.”

There is little by way of quality control and students are offered no assurance that they are downloading factually accurate notes. “The study notes on the website are added from the students and we just quickly browse through them before posting, just to ensure they are in fact notes. However, the reliability of the notes is not guaranteed. Students who go to lectures and work will know what work they need to cover and will immediately see if the work is unreliable. In terms of copyright, the website has basic procedures that student uploaders must adhere to. “Study notes made by students should have a bibliography at the end of the notes stating the resources used to make the notes. Notes made are deemed to be made in the users’ own writing.” Due to their screening protocol, StelliesNotes ensures there is no chance of leaked tests or examination papers as well as no plagiarism. “Leaked tests are not an issue as we will not upload test papers or essays of any kind. We upload study notes only.”

While the co-operative effort to help other students out of nerve-wrecking pre-examination trouble shows initiative, the site owners have not gone to extensive lengths to ensure students access accurate information. The site owners have issued disclaimers regarding the content of the notes available for download and do not accept liability for what students do with that content.

Contributor: Sarah Koopman