I suppose there might be exceptions, but I think in general it is fine to ask. But explain your reasons as you have done above. On the other hand, don't expect that you will necessarily get anything back. Many people create the notes on the fly as needed, rather than in advance. That will depend on the course and the lecturer.
In my case I prepared a set of written notes that were printed and bound. Students purchased them for the cost of preparation. But I seldom had them available much before the start of the term as they were updated for each running of the class.
Often the class notes aren't a lot of use without the lectures they accompany, so you might not get as much out of them as you hope. The lecturer will probably not be happy with you if you also ask a long stream of questions about them prior to the course.
I doubt that many would consider it inappropriate or giving yourself an unfair advantage. Most would appreciate your enthusiasm.
manpreet![Tuteehub forum best answer]()
Best Answer
2 years ago
I am taking a course in Computer Science next semester (it is currently a vacation period for my university) and I would like to email my future lecturer and ask them for the set of course notes for this course (and ask if they have any suggestions for further reading on the topic) so that I may read them ahead of time as I'm quite interested at the moment to learn more about the topic.
Would this be viewed in any way as me giving myself an unfair advantage (specifically as I am asking for the course notes which will contain content yet to be taught in the course), or could it be viewed negatively by my future lecturer?