For one of my classes last semester, for our final exam, we had the choice of taking a partner exam. The bulk of the exam was (supposed to be) a joint effort, then there was a small part that we were to complete on our own. Once everything is done, we were instructed to complete a peer evaluation.
I chose to work with a friend for this exam. He had struggled with the course content, but I figured we’d still make a good team. However, I found out that I was wrong pretty early on. About a week before the exam was due (it was open for nearly a month), we met up to go over what we had. I had completed a bulk of the exam, probably about 70% of it. My partner hadn’t even started going through it. I thought "okay, fine. We still have time to go through it." I worked through the rest of the exam right after we met up, with the exception of maybe 2 questions. The next time we met, my partner still hadn’t done anything. We worked through one of the questions together, then I asked him to complete the last one. He never did. I asked him to go over the answers that I had, one of which I knew was wrong and had yet to change on our exam document. I asked him to check my code and fix the question I knew was wrong, and he fixed maybe 10% of it, so I had to finish it.
When the time came to do the peer evaluation, I said that I did about 85% of the work while my partner did about 15% of the work. The professor reached out to me and asked for specifics, which I gave. I wasn’t happy with having to do most of the work on a PARTNER EXAM. Now, my partner is being investigated for a potential academic violation, which was NEVER my intention. I just wanted the incident documented and I thought that a point deduction was fair. I feel like this has escalated WAY too far, and I feel awful. I wanted to be honest about the situation, but I think it’s gone too far. AITA?
I probably would have done the same thing. And then wondered the same thing. Sigh.
Oof, you needed to be more assertive when dealing with your friend. This is going to blindside him hard and ruin your friendship. NTA, since he is facing his own consequences, but being more forward with your friend would have allowed you to handle the issue between the two of you instead of the shitshow you walked yourself into.
NTA Too bad about your friend but it would have been wrong to lie to cover for him. Sounds like you were generous crediting him 15%.
You expected and knew he was struggling, sure, but there is a difference between struggling with content and just doing fuckall. The evaluations for that kind of thing should be honest and let the teacher know that he was having trouble, and also that he didn’t pull his own weight. You cannot fix something if you don’t know what’s broken. NTA, imo.
Edit: As regards the academic violation, that isn’t a consequence of your evaluation, it’s a consequence of your friend not doing his fucking work. Sometimes consequences suck, but that’s unfortunately what happens. You do a thing (or don’t in this case), and other things happen in reaction.
NTA, you didn’t know it would go this far, if had me a week away from exam I would have asked to change it to a single…since it was clearly headed that way.
NTA. Your friend sucks. They expected an easy grade based on your friendship allowing them to do nothing. They tried to use you and now this is the consequences of their shitty behavior. Do not feel bad and honestly you should question this friendship.
It really bothers me that so many people are saying “this will ruin your friendship.” THE PARTNER ruined the friendship by agreeing to the partner exam and then letting his FRIEND to do all the work. It sounds like he lied on the evaluation too, because slacking on a group project doesn’t = “academic dishonesty” and an investigation.
OP, you have nothing to apologize for. *Your friend’s* behavior is why he’s in this predicament. He brought this completely on himself. If he doesn’t want to be friends with you because you *checks notes* did ALL his work and refused to lie about it, that’s on him. He’s facing the consequences of his actions and trying to blame you, when you didn’t do anything wrong.
NTA
Sidebar message: people, when you have someone like this in a group, please be honest about their behavior because the enabled student in a group project will soon become the enabled coworker who doesn’t do their share of work even when they’re being paid for it. And that can have real consequences to your workload, quality of life, ability to meet your own deadlines, and even affect promotions and earning potential.
NTA. You didn’t cause the actions of the professor. A peer review was part of the assignment and you answered questions truthfully. Your “friend” has earned any consequences that come his way.
NTA. And he wasn’t struggling with the course content, he just wasn’t doing the work probably all semester.
I did this to a team mate on a big group project once in college. He truly fucked off and left the rest of us to do it all. He always claimed he was just so busy he couldn’t make it to the group sessions. Despite the fact that one guy in the group had newborn baby at home and was working full time while going to school and he always made it to the meetings and did the work.
The guy then tried to claim all kinds of credit when it came time to present the work. He even made little digs at the rest of us when answering questions to make it seem like he was the true expert of the group.
I’ve had people coast on group work before, but that was too far. The group collectively went to the prof to complain. Professor failed the guy outright for the whole class so he had to re-take it the next semester. But this messed up his course schedule and caused him to have to take another semester before he could graduate.
Never once did I feel bad about turning him in and causing him to have to delay graduation.
NTA – you weren’t a bad friend, your friend was. If he was struggling so significantly to put in his half of the work, he should have come to you long before the exam was due, or gone to his professor. You can prompt, push, and try to motivate your exam partner, but you can’t carry them through the program or do their work for them.
Yes, as a friend, maybe it feels like you pushed it too far, or betrayed them – but you didn’t push anything, your professor set the expectations for the class and the exam, and the university sets the guidelines and policies on work, plagiarism, academic integrity, and the code of conduct they require for enrolled students. You could try to advocate for your friend, but it’s well out of your hands.
There’s no world in which you’re the AH here. You tried time and time again to get your partner to do their part. He didn’t give you incorrect work, or sloppy work, or late work – he didn’t even do the work. He didn’t try, he didn’t talk to you or the professor, and he didn’t even try to apologize to you for putting dozens of hours of partner work on your solo shoulders. There’s a reason you’re asked to peer evaluate your partners – because there’s always someone who wants to skate to graduation on the shoulders of everyone else.
In some degree programs, where it’s not just about memorization, it’s about internalization, his performance could compromise people’s lives. Do you want a lawyer representing you in criminal court who got straight C’s and D’s? Maybe a surgeon (or anesthesiologist) who relied on partners to do all their projects and paid tutors to test for him? Or a pilot who only passed 2/3rds of their training, but graduated with extra credit?
Your friend failed himself, and could have put your academic status at risk with his laziness and contempt for the class.
My evaluation is 85% of the AH points go to your “friend,” and 15% goes to your prof for giving a group project.
Pointless, except to reward the slackers and punish those who put in the work.
Ok, maybe reverse that. Prof gets the 85%
NTA. I went through this way back when. I was paired up with another student to do a project in a statistics class. She did nothing. I turned in what I had done and told the prof. He thanked me for my honesty, failed her and gave me a decent grade on it, even tho the project itself was incomplete. I didn’t bat an eye outing her. She pissed me off.
As a slacker when i was in school… NTA. I barely did the work and knew it. I felt bad afterwards too… Luckily it didn’t bite me in the ass too hard, but I would have seen it coming if it did. Unfortunate for you that it had to happen with a friend. Hopefully no hard feelings remain between both of you.