OAN Staff Jenna Lee
2:46 PM – Thursday, May 21, 2026
Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday that the number of “A” grades awarded to undergraduates will be strictly capped, marking one of the most ambitious efforts by an Ivy League institution to curb decades of grade inflation.
Following a weeklong electronic ballot, Harvard faculty passed the first part of a three-part proposal by a 458 to 201 vote. The new mandate limits flat “A” grades in undergraduate courses to just 20% of enrollees, while allowing flexibility for up to four additional A’s per class to accommodate smaller seminars.
“This is a consequential vote. It will, I believe, strengthen the academic culture of Harvard; it will also, I hope, encourage other institutions to confront similar questions with the same level of rigor and courage. This vote is an important step toward ensuring that our grading system better serves its central purposes: giving students meaningful feedback, recognizing genuine distinction, and sustaining the academic mission of the College,” said Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh in a statement.
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This sweeping structural shift, first introduced by a grading subcommittee in February, comes in response to a internal report revealing that over 60% of all grades awarded to Harvard undergraduates were A’s. The decision represents a major victory for Claybaugh and the faculty subcommittee, who designed the plan after arguing that the university’s grading system had become too compressed to distinguish truly exceptional work from strong performance.
The faculty also passed the second part of the measure in a 498 to 157 vote, opting to use average percentile rankings instead of GPAs to determine internal university awards and graduation honors. However, the faculty rejected the final measure, which would have allowed courses graded on a “satisfactory/unsatisfactory” level to petition for an opt-out from the new policy.
“This sends a powerful signal that, when people are questioning what universities do, universities are capable of governing and reforming themselves and evolving to match the challenges of our times,” said Harvard government professor Alisha Holland, co-chair of the faculty subcommittee that developed the proposal and a former Princeton student.
The new policies are scheduled to go into effect starting in the 2027-2028 academic year and will undergo a formal review after three years.
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