Zachary Bertram was a student in Northern Illinois University's Journalism 401 class in Spring 2024. Find more of the class' Perspectives assignments under the J401 tag.
Group projects in school are unfair. And really, are they necessary?
While I understand that group projects can be useful in middle school and high school for teamwork skills, I believe they should be eliminated at the college level.
It is my belief that your grade should never depend on the work of other people, no matter your age. But especially by the time you get to college, your work should be the only work that affects your grade.
It’s not like elementary school or high school where you are required to be there. In college it’s your choice… and your money… that brings you to class; therefore you should be the only factor in determining your grade.
In college, people have so much more to worry about than they did when they were in middle school or even high school. People have full time jobs, internships, sports, bills to pay and more. This makes it extremely hard for group members to find time to get together to talk about and work on their assignment.
Because it’s so hard to get together, there is often at least one group member who doesn’t end up doing their part. This either kills the group’s grade or forces the other members to do work that shouldn’t be their responsibility.
The most important reason that group projects in college should be eliminated is the money factor. The average price of attending a four-year university in the United States is $20,000. Meaning when group members don’t do their work, they are not only hurting everyone else’s grade, but also hurting everyone else financially.
I’m Zach Bertram and this is my perspective.