Harvard University, one of the world's most prestigious universities, is grappling with grade inflation. With six out of every 10 students receiving A grades, the faculty has decided to impose a cap on the proportion of A grades.
According to Reuters and other foreign media on the 20th (local time), Harvard University is overhauling its grading system to allow professors to award A grades to no more than one-fifth of students in a class, plus up to four additional students. The proportion cap applies only to A and A- grades, with no limits on lower grades. Harvard does not have an A+ grade. The new grading system is scheduled to take effect in the fall semester of 2027. Bloomberg called it "the most forceful response to grade inflation in U.S. higher education in decades."
The push for these measures came from the faculty itself. In a faculty vote held over the past week, 659 professors participated, and 458 voted in favor. The reason about 70% of professors supported the A-grade cap is concern that A grades are being awarded too liberally. According to a report released by Harvard in October, the proportion of A grades among all grades surged from 24% in 2005 to 40% in 2015 and 60% in 2025. Amanda Claybaugh, Harvard's dean of undergraduate education, warned that "grade inflation is damaging Harvard's undergraduate academic culture." A law school official also criticized in the Harvard student newspaper in March that "due to grade inflation, Harvard grades have become nearly useless in graduate school admissions reviews."
Following Harvard's move, other universities are increasingly likely to consider grade restrictions. In April, a Yale University committee proposed capping the university-wide grade point average (GPA) at 3.0. However, students oppose the measure, arguing that it would cause unnecessary stress and intensify competition on campus. In a February survey by Harvard's student council, 85% of undergraduate respondents opposed the A-grade cap.
Meanwhile, research has emerged suggesting that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is behind the recent acceleration of grade inflation at universities. Igor Chirikov, a professor at UC Berkeley, analyzed grade data from 2018 to 2025 at a research university in Texas and found that since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, the proportion of high grades in classes where AI is easily used, such as English composition and coding, rose by 30%. In contrast, courses where AI is difficult to use, such as sculpture or laboratory classes, showed no change in grade distribution.
