Harvard University announced Wednesday a sweeping policy change that will strictly limit the number of top marks professors can award to undergraduate students, targeting decades of grade inflation at the Ivy League institution.
Under the newly approved system, faculty members can award an ‘A’ grade to a maximum of 20 percent of students in any given course, though a buffer allows for up to four additional ‘A’ grades per class.
The cap will not apply to ‘A-minus’ or lower marks. Approved by a decisive 458-to-201 faculty vote, the policy is scheduled to take effect in the fall of 2027.
The decision addresses a long-standing debate in American higher education regarding the devaluation of academic honors. Data from Harvard’s student handbook revealed that roughly two-thirds of all undergraduate grades during the 2024–2025 academic year were ‘A’s.
According to the Harvard Gazette, the administration hopes the restriction will push grading trends back toward 2010 benchmarks, when ‘A’s accounted for about one-third of student marks.
Supporters of the measure argue that restoring grading rigor protects the prestige of a Harvard degree.
“This matters for our students above all. A Harvard A grade will now tell them, as well as employers and graduate schools, something real about what a student has achieved,” a statement from faculty members read.
Despite institutional backing, the student body remains overwhelmingly critical of the policy, with a February campus poll showing 85 percent of undergraduate students opposed to the restrictions.
Nevertheless, university leadership expressed hope that the decision would spark broader systemic change.
“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,” said Amanda Claybaugh, dean of undergraduate education.
Harvard’s policy shift marks the latest attempt by elite American institutions to curb upward grade drift. Similar historic efforts at peers like Princeton and Cornell universities ultimately faced heavy pushback and resistance from both students and faculty.