Unreasonable invasion of privacy

[vesel]

Hello!

 

This is my first post. I am having what I feel is a difficult time with one of my professors. During the semester, I received full credit on all assignments. Then, I did not do very well on the final exam (I misread one of the questions and consequently only answered it partially). The result of this is that my professor demanded that I send her copies of assignments I completed for other professors in other classes so that she could "check my methodology."

 

My questions are: (1) How normal is this? I have never had a professor ask for work I did for someone else before. (2) Does a professor even have the right to make this kind of request?

 

Thanks!

[JustChill]

That does sound like a bit of an odd request, but it also seems like your grade is dependent upon this and she's the only one with the power to change it. If you've been doing solid work in your other classes, this should be a good opportunity to salvage your semester's hard work in this class and not let a small mistake on the final sink your cumulative grade. I would agree to her request.  

[St Andrews Lynx]

Hopefully it means that the professor wants to give you a better grade than your final exam performance warranted, so they are looking for more evidence that you DO know what you're doing. Look at this as an attempt by the professor to help you out.

 

It isn't very common to ask for something like this...but I think the reasoning behind the request is more common (professors decide on the curve in graduate classes and the weight they'll give different assignments)

[dr. t]

I'm not sure what the other posters are talking about, but it seems pretty clear to me that your professor wants to make sure you didn't plagiarize the other assignments. You could probably refuse the request, but the professor might simply drag you before the ad board instead.

[Sigaba]

How is it an invasion of your privacy if you're being asked to hand over work seen by others?

 

IRT the request, if you're interested to learn if it is appropriate, I recommend that you start with your current institution's policies on academic conduct.

 

FWIW, I'm inclined to agree with telkanuru. If the professor's intent is to cut you a break, you'd be less uncertain about her motivation.

[TakeruK]

I think this is something uncommon but this is only based on my (limited) experience. I know I would not use my student's performance in other classes as a factor in determining a grade for them in my class though. So in my opinion, I don't think the professor should be making this request of you.

 

However, my (again limited) understanding of FERPA is that if you consent to this release, the professor is not doing anything illegal. But I agree with Sigaba--check with your school's policies on privacy and you can do some searches on FERPA to be sure. Note that FERPA does allow profs to see information that they "need to know" so they *might* be able to do things like ask your other professors to show them your grades on other assignments.

 

I don't know the full story so I won't assume why the prof wants to see your other work. But if you really really don't want to show them, why not just destroy them. You have no obligation to keep old assignments from other classes. However, depending on the reason for this request, this might be a bad idea if these old assignments can actually help you in the long run.

[rising_star]

 

However, my (again limited) understanding of FERPA is that if you consent to this release, the professor is not doing anything illegal. But I agree with Sigaba--check with your school's policies on privacy and you can do some searches on FERPA to be sure. Note that FERPA does allow profs to see information that they "need to know" so they *might* be able to do things like ask your other professors to show them your grades on other assignments.

 

So, my understanding of FERPA is that the professor would NOT have access to your other assignments or grades unless you grant permission. I say this because I've solo taught numerous times and I can't even see what other courses students are enrolled in (even those in my dept) much less their grades in those courses. The department administrator and chair, of course, have that kind of access and could share the info with profs but, when the prof logs into the university system, there isn't generally a way for them to get that information directly.

 

The request strikes me as odd. I've never had a prof ask to see work I've turned in for another course without a clear reason. For example, as a MA student, I wrote one paper (a research proposal) that I submitted as the final paper for two different courses. I got permission from both professors well in advance to do so (one was a theory course, one was a methods course, and the proposal tied the two together to advance my research/progress in the dept). They both agreed, they each got copies of the paper, and they each graded it (and, unsurprisingly, had issues with different parts of the proposal). Other than in that sort of circumstance or when academic misconduct concerns have been raised, I've never heard of someone asking to see work for another course...

[TakeruK]

So, my understanding of FERPA is that the professor would NOT have access to your other assignments or grades unless you grant permission. I say this because I've solo taught numerous times and I can't even see what other courses students are enrolled in (even those in my dept) much less their grades in those courses. The department administrator and chair, of course, have that kind of access and could share the info with profs but, when the prof logs into the university system, there isn't generally a way for them to get that information directly.

 

I agree that I also don't think FERPA allows profs to just be able to log in and see your other grades. But I am assuming that when it comes to issues like your thesis committee seeing your grades or a committee of profs deciding the top senior undergrad etc, they then have a legitimate reason / "need to know". That is, what I mean is I can probably imagine a situation where a prof gets FERPA approval to see your other grades on a "need to know" basis if they have a good reason, but agree that they cannot just log into the system and see your grades!

[bsharpe269]

All of this FERPA information is really interesting. I always assumed that my PI could access my grades to make sure I am styaing on track.

[TakeruK]

All of this FERPA information is really interesting. I always assumed that my PI could access my grades to make sure I am styaing on track.

 

Well, I think they still can because they probably are a part of some advisory committee for your progress. I don't really know if they can just instantly see your grades at will, or do they have to fill out a request, or do they just have to make a record when they do access your student file. I do know that random profs in the department can't just open up your student file and browse them for no reason though.

 

For my quals exam (oral), we were instructed to prepare a single sheet listing all of our courses and our grades as part of the package of info we give to each exam committee member. I was a little surprised we had to do this since I would think that a quals exam committee surely has good enough reason to access my academic record through FERPA. It could be just that they wanted us, the students, to do the legwork of condensing our transcript (removing research/seminar credits etc.) and perhaps reflect on our own grades to help us prepare for the exam. Or maybe having the committee access my transcript would require more FERPA paperwork and by having the students just give this information, it eliminates that? Just something I wonder about!

[jlr1228]

Do you have your own advisor you can ask? Depending on how supportive and understanding your advisor is, it might be a good option. 

[juilletmercredi]

Well, I think they still can because they probably are a part of some advisory committee for your progress. I don't really know if they can just instantly see your grades at will, or do they have to fill out a request, or do they just have to make a record when they do access your student file.

 

This may be department dependent but in my experience, even your advisor cannot access your grades - regardless of the avenues they go through.  My advisor certainly did not have access to my grades or even which classes I had taken, and we never discussed my grades in classes.  His only interest in my coursework was 1) whether I was meeting the requirements for the program and 2) whether it was preparing me for the quals.

[TMP]

I might be late on this...but some $.02.

 

Definitely departmental thing.  My departmental handbook explicitly states that advisers should be checking their advisees' grades on a regular basis.

 

The request does seem odd to me.  My instinct would to go my adviser or the DGS (the DGS is bound by CGS to maintain confidentiality) for consultation.  I would also ask the professor for clarification of "check for methodology."