<p>I want to do research with my current professor whose class I’m doing pretty well in but the catch is, he’s collaborating with a professor who’s class I took and I did TERRIBLE in. I’m afraid he’ll tell my current professor how bad I did in his class? </p>
<p>Actually, I think that your professor is prohibited by law from sharing your academic performance with another professor. It’s protected information and I don’t believe the school can release it (even among each other) with your permission.</p>
<p>He is NOT prohibited by law. Using that line of logic, an employer has no right to view your transcripts. Even if he was, all he would have to do is saying that he won’t take you on without seeing your transcript, at which point releasing your grades to him would be a requirement to get the job and circumvent the law.</p>
<p>Still, it isn’t unlawful to pull someone’s transcript if you are a professor. It would be if you did so and then disseminated it outside of the university or to other students. That is how I understand the way it works anyway.</p>
<p>“at which point releasing your grades to him would be a requirement to get the job and circumvent the law.”</p>
<p>I thought that was a requirement…?</p>
<p>Regardless, whether or not it’s technically legal, it’s not as if you could prove the professor rejected you for any particular reason (for instance, knowing your grades), and then even if you could it probably wouldn’t get you anywhere. So even if it is “against the law” it is still effectively legal.</p>
<p>Professors cannot share your grades per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. It is a violation of federal law for the professor to give away any personal information, including your grade and even if you were enrolled in the class.</p>
<p>There are only a few exceptions to this law, but one if them is that a professor may share that information with a university official performing university business if the grade is applicable to that business. If Professor 1 asks Professor 2 about a potential undergraduate research applicant, Professor 1 is a university official, Professor 1’s research is university business, and your grades are pertinent as to whether or not you are qualified to perform the research, so it would be acceptable for Professor 2 to release your grade to Professor 1.</p>
<p>In fact, at many schools, Professors 1 and 2 would have full access to your transcript anyway. You wouldn’t believe how many students come to me to ask for a reference, with an incorrect GPA on their resume (I guess they assume I can’t pull their transcript, which I can, and do for official business like writing a recommendation).</p>
<p>The federal privacy law says that grades can be released to another professor for a “legitimete educational purpose.” You can debate whether the situation presented above is a “legitimete educational purpose”. However, if I was a professor, I would never share performance of a particular student for that purpose. That’s simply opening yourself up.</p>
<p>OP - I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think professors make a habit of gossiping about students and would hope they’d never withhold a cool opportunity based on hearsay.</p>
<p>Oh my god professors can talk to each other about how good students are. Anybody who thinks the lab prohibits this… get over yourselves. Students tell each other professors suck all the time. You don’t think professors do the same?</p>
<p>As I stated above, the situation clearly falls under the exception provided by FERPA. No one I know would even question that. </p>
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<p>Sometimes professors talk about students, but not that often. Usually, it students only come up if they are exceptionally problematic or by chance (you’re walking out of Professor 1’s office when Professor 2 walks in). Besides, most of the time the professor doesn’t even remember your grade. With 200 students / semester and a TA performing all of the grading, it’s easy to lose track.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether or not it’s true, I’m pretty sure saying something along the lines of “X is an idiot, he would never be able to do research” is grounds for being in some legal trouble. Instead, a comment like “X struggled in my class and received a poor grade. He did not put forth a lot of effort and did not come to me for help. He may have problems in an unstructured research environment” would be A LOT safer.</p>
<p>Saying anything bad about a student is grounds to be accused of slander. It’s especially true if a professor is looking to hire a person, and what another professor says causes the student to not get hired.</p>
<p>The same holds true for employers. It’s really a bad idea to give a bad reference. It’s far better to decline to be a reference than to be a bad one due to various protection laws.</p>
<p>Slander means that it is false. It is, by definition, impossible to slander someone by saying things that are true. It would not be slanderous to say that someone is a poor student if they really are. It may be somewhat less than tactful, but it is not slander.</p>
<p>Agreed. Not trying to be bad funny but, given the state of case law, UAH would not even now, if asked to say anything re: Amy Bishop, make any negative comment. It is a sad state of affairs dictated by judicial dictates disguised as considered legal interpretation.</p>
<p>“Another important aspect of defamation is the difference between fact and opinion. Statements made as “facts” are frequently actionable defamation. Statements of opinion or pure opinion are not actionable. In order to win damages in a libel case, the plaintiff must first show that the statements were “statements of fact or mixed statements of opinion and fact” and second that these statements were false. Conversely, a typical defense to defamation is that the statements are opinion. One of the major tests to distinguish whether a statement is fact or opinion is whether the statement can be proved true or false in a court of law. If the statement can be proved true or false, then, on that basis, the case will be heard by a jury to determine whether it is true or false. If the statement cannot be proved true or false, the court may dismiss the libel case without it ever going to a jury to find facts in the case.”
<p>Q: Should I talk to the professor about research?
A: Yes. The worst he can say is “no”, which is the equivalent of not asking. So you only have something to gain in the process. </p>
<p>Q: Can professors talk about your grades to each other if you’re applying for research with one and took a class from another?
A: Yes. Both professors are university officials, doing university business, and your grade is pertinent to your ability to do research. This is an exception allowed by FERPA.</p>
<p>Q: Will professors talk about me?
A: Probably not. Unless you were memorable (disruptive in class, in a very small class, etc), the first professor probably doesn’t remember your grades, and even if he did, there’s no real reason for them to talk unless you run into both of them at the same time, or something like that.</p>