'I chose not to mention that': University professor lets student fail himself after he never attends a single class

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 13, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

Academia doesn't like liars, as one student found out the hard way. 

Colleges love to talk about how much they value original work: no cheating allowed! It's never been easier for students to lie about their work, letting computers write their papers for them. And a lot of those students get caught too, flunking their classes and sometimes having to drop out over that indiscretion. 

This student also lied to his professor, but it wasn't about a paper. Instead, this kid had gotten into that bad habit of skipping classes. Some professors will tell students from day one that they'll allow a certain amount of absences. Others never take roll call. They're the type of professor who has taught the same exact class for the last 40 years, and they're through with caring about students who don't care about their own education. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, and the same goes for students who'd rather skip every class just because they can. You can check out this professor's full story below and see if you agree with their methods! 

Up next, this auto shop employee got back an impolite and pushy customer by making him wait hours in the store. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10388584192
    via The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash
  • 02
    Lie to your teacher, fail the course I've been teaching university courses in one form or another for nearly a decade. With that experience you tend to find "the hidden meaning" behind what students tell you.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 03
    A few weeks ago a student sent me an email. "I was in class today, but I didn't hear when you said our next exam was. When is it?" This sets off alarm bells in my mind. The only time. someone writes to tell you that they were in class is if they were, in fact, NOT in class and want to convince you otherwise.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 04
    Sure enough I check my roster sheets and notice that he's NEVER attended class. This doesn't bother me. If a student is dedicated enough to learn the material independently and only show up for exams more power to them. What bothers me is the lie, followed by the request for information.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 05
    I decide to go full Malicious Compliance. I answer his question: "Our next exam is in about two weeks." This is the best answer I can give, the exact date will depend on the pace we cover the material.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 06
    What I DON'T tell him is that he missed an exam the day before he sent that email. And the first exam a couple weeks before that. Because of the course policy it's actually still possible to pass the course in that situation. You'd have to hustle a bit and take full advantage of all extra credit, but it's possible. I choose not to mention that either.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 07
    Yesterday I received another email from this student. He, again, wanted to know when the next exam was. He said he was sick and missed the last couple of days. I, again, check my roster and see he STILL has never attended class.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 08
    I answer his question, that the exam was literally in a few minutes. During the exam he emails me to requests a make up. This is when I drop the hammer: "At this point you've missed so much it's not possible to pass"
    via u/jared_gee
  • 09
    I haven't heard back from him since then. I assume he's looking into dropping the course. Too bad the last day to drop was 3 days ago.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 10
    tldr: student lied to me, I give him precisely the information he asked for and no more, student fails the class.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 11
    Licensedpterodactyl PSA: most professors are actual human beings. They understand that life is weird and complicated and messy. If you're straight up and honest with them they'll appreciate that and maybe work with you.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 12
    Please note I said most. Some really are evil and malicious robots who have no heart and delight in the misery of their students.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 13
    AMCinka Honesty really does get you places with professors. I was like this student my first year, many of my calculus and physics classes were just repeating what I already learned I'm highschool.
    via u/AMCinka
  • 14
    Well my calculus professor was a pretty stern older German fellow that most of class was afraid of. Attendance didn't effect your grade so I chose to only show up for quizzes and exams. One day I showed up for a quiz and before he handed it out he asked if anybody missed last
    via u/jared_gee
  • 15
    class. I figured I couldn't possibly be the only one so I raised my hand and as I proceeded to look around I noticed not one other person did. Well the professor handed me a copy of his notes from the previous class and told everyone else to just their own notes to
    via u/jared_gee
  • 16
    study for the next 5 mins. My buddy who attended every class told me later on that half the class wasn't there on Monday so they all failed since they had no notes to review. TLDR: I passed a quiz due to being the only honest person, while half the class failed miserably for lying
    via u/jared_gee
  • 17
    zeal00 I still have nightmares about this. About classes I forgot I signed up for that have exams imminent, about classes that I can't find, about exams I forgot were 'today'. I've been out of college for a decade.
    via u/jared_gee
  • 18
    WhatTheFawkesSay A lot of you seem to be under the impression that OP is obligated to do more than what they did. I've had professors NOT even respond to emails even when attending every lecture. University is not the time for hand holding. You're paying for a course, whether you go or not is
    via u/jared_gee
  • 19
    on you. If the student had said "hey I've had some personal issues come up and I haven't been attending class, is there any way I can salvage my grade" that would be different.
    via u/jared_gee

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students malicious compliance malicious-compliance-reddit teacher test malicious compliance reddit college exams
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