Overview
- Faculty voted decisively to adopt the limit, with 458 in favor and 201 against, approving a rule that caps A grades in each undergraduate course at 20 percent of enrolled students plus up to four additional students.
- The rule applies only to Bachelor/undergraduate courses, takes effect in autumn 2027, and does not place limits on lower high grades such as A- while Harvard does not award A+.
- The decision responds to a long upward trend in A grades that rose from about 24 percent in 2005 to roughly 60 percent by 2025, a shift flagged in an October report from Dean Amanda Claybaugh as damaging the purpose of grades.
- Many students oppose the change: a Harvard Crimson survey found nearly 85 percent against an A cap, with students saying the rule could hurt their competitiveness for jobs and graduate school.
- Harvard’s move could set a precedent for other elite universities and may change course selection, employer and graduate school evaluation, and teaching incentives, but key details on enforcement and exceptions remain unresolved.