Is a professor allowed to ask me what grade I got in a previous class?

Question

I'm a student in Michigan, in the United States. I've just started a class for which a previous class was the prerequisite. The professor of my current class asked that I give him my grade for that previous class. (This was an e-mail sent to me and all my classmates.) I don't like the feel of it. Does he have any right to that information? Obviously he isn't going through the system to get the information, and I feel like it's because this isn't on the level.

On further research, I found the FERPA website. It declares:

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

• School officials with legitimate educational interest;

There are additional parties/conditions, but this is the only one that even comes close to my situation. Another reference I found is Huntingdon College's General FERPA Information, which defines a school official as:

a person employed by the College in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position;

There are other definitions, but again, this is the most applicable to my situation.

Answer 1

In the US, federal student privacy laws (FERPA) dictate that schools restrict access to student educational records, so that only those with a "legitimate educational interest" can access them. Most universities interpret this such that the student's academic advisor can automatically see their full transcripts in the student record system, but not every professor of every class the student takes.

However, just because access is not automatic, does not mean that it is not allowed. If a professor has a "legitimate educational interest" in a student record, then they may request access to that record. (For example, from the student's academic advisor.) "Legitimate educational interest" will be defined in the school's Student Records Policy and in their annual FERPA disclosure. For example:

A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official requires the information for the purpose of fulfilling his official duties, including but not limited to:

• performing a task that is specified in his or her position description or contract agreement;
• performing a task related to a student’s education;
• performing a task related to the discipline of a student;
• providing a service or benefit relating to the student or student’s family, such as health care, counseling, job placement or financial aid;
• maintaining the safety and security of the campus; or
• participating in or conducting studies, evaluations, or assessments of educational programs.

Finally, as the student, you are permitted to disclose your student record to anyone you want. Someone with no educational interest in your record - e.g. your parent - could ask you questions about your educational records, and you would be free to disclose that information or not.

Answer 2

There are very few things, if any, that professors are prohibited from asking. Asking some things (e.g., sexual orientation or marital status) might get a professor in trouble if a complaint is raised and the professor lacks a good reason for asking for the information. While asking for and obtaining previous grades could lead to a FERPA violation (or some other misdeed), I doubt a department chair would ever reprimand a professor for asking.

Now for why the professor might be asking for the grade, sometimes it is easier to ask the student then use the online system or go through the department administrator. Most likely, they are asking about the grade as a potential conversation starter. The issues they want to talk about possibly depend on the grade you got. For example, asking a D student if topic X was covered probably does not make as much sense as asking an A student. Asking a C student if they understand topic X might provide more insight than asking an A student.

I would suggest you just tell them the grade. If you are really worried tell the professor you don't like discussing grades but would be happy to talk about the content of the course.

Answer 3

When I was taking a class that required a pre-requisite and our teacher asked for the grade we got in that class he was ultimately trying to gauge his students.

He wanted to gauge how well everyone in the class understood the previous material. Based on the grades we gave him became a deciding factor on whether or not he would briefly go over the previous material the first week of class or just jump right into the new material.

I don't know this teacher but typically teacher's like to get a feel for the students that are taking their class. If a teacher can gather a better overall understanding of the students in the class they could use that information to better teach their students.

Answer 4

You said you don't like the feel of the situation, but as someone with hardly any facts I would suggest turning it around and saying something like "We both know that grades are somewhat arbitrary - what specific information are you trying to get at via my previous grade? If you're concerned that I am lacking a skill or set of knowledge that is crucial for this class, I'd be glad to answer more specific questions regarding my abilities/knowledge, and work with you so I can remedy any deficiencies in my previous coursework that we might discover together."

This way, you don't go straight to federal regulations in the event that the request that they're just taking a poll to see who might need extra attention/help (i.e 'don't make a federal case over it [unless it's necessary]').

But obviously if they are demanding your grade, and won't reveal why, then consider reporting it to the department chair/ombudsperson/etc. You can probably do this even if you got a good grade and you decide to share it with the instructor to get them off your back.

Answer 5

To ask such questions in the U.S. is, at least, ill-considered. The obvious possible sense of it, in the best-case scenario, is out of concern whether students are adequately prepared. But, to my mind, knowing prior grades does also have great potential for prejudicing expectations on the part of the instructor. Deflecting the question would be in everyone's best interest. So, no, teachers should not ask this question (in the U.S.). And even their interest in knowing the quality of the preparation of their students, while understandable, is slightly beyond what is appropriate, except as aggregate.

EDIT: in response to one comment, I am not suggesting that grading might be unfair. I am suggesting that students often rise (or sink) to expectations expressed (possibly subtly) by teachers, etc.

Further, first, in the U.S., FERPA seems to indicate that current instructors are not automatically entitled to access to their (current) students' prior grades. Ok. Doesn't say they're not allowed to ask, but, again, the instructor will know who declined to give the info, and students may worry about that, too, since if they decline, this creates an impression, etc.

Rather than asking for the (anyway, in my opinion, dubious) info of "prior grade(s)", why not do a diagnostic/review quiz or quizzes? This gives better-quality information, and avoids all sorts of potential psychological issues.

Again, even if the instructor's intentions are good, asking for prior grades has too many problematical aspects, and a better quality sort of information can be acquired otherwise.

So, "can they ask": sure, I guess. Should they ask? I think not.

Answer 6

Have you considered not answering? This is an information you may or may not want to give out, and if he does not have access to it, you do not have to provide your previous grade.

From browsing this SE i have come to the impression that professors sometimes tend to not anser e-mail either, so it probably wouldn't come off as rude.

Like you stated in a comment, he either could be looking for people who need additional help or he might be checking out who is worth his time and who is not.

In any case, if you did score an acceptable grade, it wouldn't hurt to tell him after all ;)

Answer 7

The professor of my current class asked that I give him my grade for that previous class. (This was an e-mail sent to me and all my classmates.)

If the question feels intrusive, you don't need to answer. You might respond

I feel well prepared for this course and I'm looking forward to building on previous knowledge and skills during the coming weeks.

It sounds like the instructor didn't explain his motivation for the question, and if so, I would encourage you to let the department take a look at his email. However, the safest way of preventing administrative bumbling that might result in retaliation would be to wait until the end of the semester.

It's very possible that the instructor made an honest mistake but meant well, and would benefit from some departmental guidance.

However, if the instructor's intention was for students to share their previous grade with the whole group, that would be different. In that case I would inform the department immediately.

By the way, this has nothing to do with FERPA. FERPA doesn't protect you from intrusive questions (you might have been thinking about employment laws that protect job candidates from intrusive, irrelevant questions). FERPA protects you from disclosure of your protected information without your consent. For example, FERPA would protect you from this instructor obtaining your previous grade from a fellow professor, a secretary, or an administrator, and giving that information to someone inappropriate without your consent (for example, giving it to another student in the class).

The Department of Education has a page called "Model Notifications of Rights under FERPA for Postsecondary Institutions," which says

A postsecondary institution may disclose PII [personally identifiable information] from the education records without obtaining prior written consent of the student to other school officials, including teachers, within the [School] whom the school has determined to have legitimate educational interests.

This means that if your instructor can convince someone on staff with access to your previous grade to give it to him (which I would guess would not be very difficult), then he doesn't need to ask you.