We were supposed to integrate everything a week before submission. Project was assigned about 6 weeks before submission. The last guy kept saying he's working on it and we don't have to worry.
Then a week before submission, he has nothing to show. Didn't type one word.
I had to scramble and get it done myself. Time was not enough anymore; we got B instead of A. I was already known to get A grade in every project where teachers would give me A++ if that was a grade. The teacher of that course was so disappointed...
Since then I did all projects solo. Had to fight a little with some teachers to get that approval; esp when there were really big projects for 5/6 people group. Still did solo and got rated as best project in every single one of them.
Yes, learning to navigate working with other people is important. But why are you learning that? Because you will need that in work place.
You know what is there in workplace that is not present in varsity project?
Accountability: If someone is not doing their job, you can complain to the manager/boss. There is none in group project.
Authority: In varsity project, everyone is equal. I have no authority over others, even when I have much more experience/know-how. Telling prof one guy is slacking doesn't get much done.
Right to Choose: In work env, if I am highly skilled, I have the option to choose the place I work and thereby increasing the chance of like-minded like-skilled peers. In varsity project, I can get paired with a dumbass and have to bring myself to lowest common denominator. Sorry, I don't (have to) work with idiots in an equal setting. There's a reason that guy is doing some unrelated bank managerial job for $1k/month and I buy $1k worth of collectible items per month without blinking an eye.
If a varsity project is setup in a work env way where I get to interview who joins my team and have the right to fire them if they don't get their shit done, then I'm happy to do group project. Similarly, I'm happy to go thru the same process to join another person's team (if I consider them better).
PS: I did 2 group projects with a friend before that incident and we had zero issues with anything. Simply because we did the work and our skill levels were similar. He's working as Principle Engineer at Oracle now and it is no surprise.
> Group projects were also a common complaint. You were randomly assigned a group, but it was often unclear if the participants were even doing the course - many people were in completely ghost groups.
I see that nothing has changed in 20 years. Even when attended the courses physically in person, group project usually had 1 or 2 people doing all the work and the rest nowhere to be found, or just hanging out. :p