Campus Reactions to Harvard’s Updated Grading Policy Proposal

As students arrive on campus after spring break and dive back into midterm season, the relevance of the newly introduced Proposal for Updating Grading Policy—which suggests changes in grading, including a cap on A grades at “20% +4” of the class size—becomes increasingly salient. Students celebrated the administration’s choice to delay policy implementation to the fall of 2027. Still, in an email blast shared on April 1, the Harvard Undergraduate Association’s Academic Team urged students to continue to mobilize against the proposal.

“The grading policy was delayed, but the fight is far from over,” HUA Academic Team Officer Hyunsoo Lee said in an email to undergraduates.

Lee’s words hint at campus opinion: the delay in enacting the proposed policy has not alleviated student frustrations or faculty apprehension. Students’ concerns ranged from increased competition and negative impacts on mental health to the intentional pursuit of easier coursework, according to an HUA survey, which found that 85.4% of students strongly disapproved of the policy. This postponement also reflects a concern from University staff, who were torn on the efficacy of such a plan since Claybaugh’s October 2025 memo, despite recognizing the current problems with the grading system. 

The brunt of the policy now falls on the Class of 2029, given that older students will be impacted for a year or less. “I do think, especially as a pre-med first year in many pre-med heavy spheres, freshmen already think about grades when choosing classes, activities, and concentrations,” Audrey Lin ’29 said to the “Independent.”

Students surveyed by the HUA expressed fears about taking fewer academic risks. Polled undergraduates were also afraid of the competitive culture that grading caps may instigate. “I’d much rather take a harder class that may hurt my GPA if I truly found it super interesting. In my experience, classes that I struggle with more end up being the most interesting,” Lin said. “I aimed to choose a school rooted in collaboration, open-mindedness, and growth, and I think this policy directly contradicts that. Coming to this school, I think we’re meant to learn from each other just as often as we’re meant to learn from our professors, if not more, and this policy actively discourages that.”

The University is already making changes to graduation requirements for the freshman class, with students from the class of 2029 onwards banned from taking General Education and Quantitative Reasoning with Data courses on a pass/fail basis.

But the policy has not solely been met with dissent. Some first-years agree with the goals and methods of Claybaugh’s proposal.

For Ocean Gao ’29, the grading policy satisfies his primary goal of attending an academically challenging institution, as it raises the floor of performance. He believes the passage of a grade cap would not impact his overall experience, as he characterizes himself as someone who romanticizes academics. “I intend to challenge myself at Harvard,” Gao said. 

However, Gao is conscious that he may be an exception, wanting to note that someone more against the policy might more accurately represent the general freshman population, as he is not as worried about the impact of GPA on his future professional prospects. “I expected the academics to be less rigorous than at a few other colleges. I was relieved upon discovering that some classes are more challenging than I thought they would be, and the difficulty depends on the students’ choices,” Gao said.

“Although most of the people I have met seldom mention grades, the high number of classmates staying up late and skipping events to study demonstrates some concern about maintaining grades,” Gao added.

Professor Peter Der Manuelian, the Barbara Bell Professor of Egyptology who teaches GENED 1099 on Ancient Egypt, agrees with Gao’s desire to recenter academics. “It is very difficult in the current circumstances to distinguish truly exceptional performances. Soon, ‘summa cum laude’ will mean nothing,” Der Manuelian shared with the “Independent.” But according to Der Manuelian, the administration should work to find a middle ground between academic rigor and student mental health.

“I hope there will be no outbreak of cutthroat competition among students who refuse to collaborate in class,” Der Manuelian added. “After all, most are already comfortable with a certain amount of competition.”

“I would hope that once students discover that grades of A-, B+, or even B are acceptable, that should take the pressure off of feeling that every course having to end in an A. It might actually enhance risk-taking, rather than throttle it,” Der Manuelian added. 

Aran Sonnad-Joshi ’27 narrowly escaped the policy as a junior. “I think that this policy generally will probably decrease intellectual exploration because students will probably focus on doing what they think they’re good at rather than taking academic risks, trying something where they’re much less likely to be in the top 20%,” Sonnad-Joshi said.

Sonnad-Joshi currently double-concentrates in Microbiology and Social Studies. “For me, coming to the social sciences was a pretty new thing, and I don’t know if I would’ve made that switch sophomore year,” he said. “With the pressure of grading on pre-meds, I don’t think that I necessarily would’ve taken the chance to try something new as a pre-med,” Sonnad-Joshi added.

However, he recognized in the long term that something had to be done, despite the initial harm it may have on students. “I think it’s unfortunate, but I’m glad it’s not affecting me as harshly … a policy has to come into effect at some point, I don’t think there’s any way to make it so that classes are equally affected,” Sonnad-Joshi explained.

With just a month left in the semester, students continue to push for a new solution for grade inflation. Hyunsoo Lee ’28 has remained at the forefront of the conversation and helped organize the HUA Academic Team’s advocacy on the issue. “I think many students think that grade inflation is an issue, but clearly, most students are against this policy specifically to address the issue,” Lee said to the “Independent.”

Lee corroborated suggestions of the diverse beliefs held among faculty members regarding the proposal. “An anonymous survey of 61 professors [showed that] they seem divided on implementation issues, faculty autonomy and other spillover effects,” Lee said. On April 7, the faculty held a meeting on the policy, and will continue to debate the policy and its implementation. 

“No matter what the faculty decides, it’s important for students to voice their opinions,” Lee concluded.

Elisa See ’28 (elisasee@college.harvard.edu) is awaiting the results of the grading policy faculty vote.