Harvard Faculty Votes to Cap A Grades at 20 Percent Plus Four

Harvard University faculty voted to limit the number of A grades given to undergraduates in an effort to address grade inflation. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences approved the measure by a vote of 458 to 201 earlier this month. Instructors in letter-graded courses may award A grades to no more than 20 percent of students in a class, plus four additional students.

There is no cap on A-minus grades or other letter grades.

A separate proposal that would have allowed courses to opt out of the limit by switching to a satisfactory-unsatisfactory system was rejected. The policy applies only to undergraduate students and will begin in the academic year starting in 2027. Faculty will reassess the change after three years.

University data showed that more than 60 percent of undergraduate grades in recent years were in the A range, up from 40 percent in 2015 and 20 percent in 2005.

Subcommittee on Grading said the reform would ensure that a Harvard A grade tells students, employers, and graduate schools something real about student achievement. " — Subcommittee on Grading, 2026 (CBS News) Harvard government professor Alisha Holland, co-chair of the faculty subcommittee, described the change as a pro-student reform designed to restore meaning to transcripts without affecting GPAs.

Student leaders Zach Berg and Daniel Zhao, co-presidents of the Harvard Undergraduate Association, said they recognized concerns with the current system but were disappointed that student voices had not been centered in the process. A February survey by the association found that nearly 85 percent of roughly 800 responding undergraduates opposed the proposal.

Amanda Claybaugh, Harvard’s dean of undergraduate education, called grade inflation a complex issue that many have recognized but no one has solved. Psychology professor Joshua Greene, who served on the subcommittee that developed the proposal, said the reform aims to reduce the pressure of maintaining a perfect transcript.

Harvard is not the first elite university to address the issue. Princeton University limited A-range grades to 35 percent beginning in 2004 before abandoning the policy a decade later. The new rules will be reviewed after three years to assess their effects on students and academic culture.