HARVARD ELECTIONS: Vote now for our recommended candidates in Harvard’s 2026 Overseer & Harvard Alumni Association Director Elections.
ICYMI: On March 23, 1636 Forum hosted Harvard Kennedy School professor Julia Minson (AB ’99) to discuss Harvard College’s new required first-year disagreement training, which she designed. If you missed it, you can watch the recording here (or read the transcript). You can also order Minson’s new book, How to Disagree Better, on the research behind the training here.
With a spring vote by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) approaching, Harvard College’s grading policy proposal is becoming more appealing to faculty and easier to implement in practice. That’s because faculty are gaining time — and with it, the runway to ensure their courses are challenging enough to meaningfully distinguish A’s from lower grades.
On Monday, Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh shared a set of changes to the proposal on behalf of the Standing Committee on Undergraduate Educational Policy. Notably:
Harvard College would delay the proposal’s effective date by a year (to Fall 2027), with the rollout being overseen by a new implementation committee appointed by College Dean David Deming.
Students taking a graded course as SAT/UNS (satisfactory/unsatisfactory, i.e., pass/fail) would still count in the “denominator” used to calculate the “20%” in the proposal’s “20% + 4” A cap (i.e., capping A’s at 20% of enrollment, plus four additional A’s per course).
A third “grade” would be added to SAT/UNS courses — SAT+ — essentially a “high pass.”
FAS is expected to vote on the revised grading proposal in the coming weeks. The vote will be open to all FAS faculty and conducted online, but participation is voluntary, so the outcome will be determined by those who cast ballots.
These revisions respond to faculty concerns about the proposal’s mechanics and rollout. Each change introduces tradeoffs that will need to be monitored in implementation, but they appear relatively minor compared to the bigger picture: this remains the strongest proposal to date for addressing the collective action problem of grade inflation, and an improvement over the status quo.
At the same time, the faculty who developed the proposal have sought community feedback throughout its creation, and since its release, for a reason. Grading reform is deceptively complex and could stumble because of anything from unanticipated scenarios to logistical hurdles. To the extent these changes reduce those risks and increase faculty buy-in, they improve the odds the reform works as intended.
And ultimately, even with these additions, the proposal preserves its broader goal of recentering academics by restoring meaningful grade differentiation — so an A again signals extraordinary distinction, and anything less no longer feels like failure.
Keep reading for 1636 Forum’s view on the benefits and risks of the proposal’s new additions. This week’s Big Idea is a little longer than usual to bring readers up to speed ahead of the faculty vote.
Counting SAT/UNS students in the “20%” calculation
Benefits: Keeping SAT/UNS students in the denominator makes planning easier for faculty and for the Registrar’s Office. If only letter-graded students counted toward a course’s A cap denominator, its faculty wouldn’t know how many A’s they can actually award until the course SAT/UNS petition period ends — 11 weeks into the 15-week semester.
Risks: If SAT/UNS students still count toward calculating a course’s A cap, their decision to opt out could slightly increase how many A’s a course can award. The Crimson says this effect should be “minimal.” Still, it’s worth watching whether SAT/UNS usage rises enough in certain courses to matter.
Bottom Line: This change makes the cap easier to administer, but creates a risk that high SAT/UNS usage could materially increase how many A’s a course can award.
Adding SAT+ to SAT/UNS grades
Benefits: SAT+ enables faculty to distinguish strong performers in SAT/UNS courses, where grades ranging from an A to a C would otherwise be collapsed. Students would likewise have a clearer way to signal their performance in SAT/UNS courses on their transcripts, even though those courses still don’t count toward GPA or Average Percentile Rank (APR) (the proposal’s system for calculating internal honors).
Risks:
The biggest risk is that by making SAT/UNS courses more appealing, SAT+ could give instructors an off ramp from adopting the new A cap. That could complicate concentration requirements (since SAT/UNS courses typically don’t count), push students to over-index on SAT/UNS courses, and raise the stakes of remaining letter-graded courses. The pressure around receiving flat A’s that this system is meant to alleviate could return — or even worsen — if students’ GPAs end up riding on fewer courses. (In practice though, students are unlikely to want transcripts dominated by SAT/UNS marks.)
SAT+ could also blur the purpose of traditionally SAT/UNS courses meant to de-emphasize grading (like freshman seminars or senior tutorials). And because SAT+ doesn’t have a course cap, it could experience “inflation” too.
Bottom Line: SAT+ adds a potentially useful “high pass” signal, but might need more guidance to prevent SAT/UNS courses from becoming an end-run around the A cap.
Delaying implementation to 2027
Benefits:
The extra year gives faculty time to recalibrate courses so they genuinely reward extraordinary achievement, rather than forcing arbitrary distinctions. A frequent criticism of the proposal is that, given today’s grade compression at the top of the curve, a quick rollout could mean some instructors end up drawing cutoffs between a 96 vs. a 97 in a course. Redesigning assessments so an A reflects “beyond mastery” performance — creativity, originality, depth — will take time. With an extra year, faculty can draw on resources like the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, collaborate with peers, and pilot new approaches during the 2026-27 school year.
Under the guidance of an implementation committee, the extra year also gives FAS time to work through details and logistics beyond the scope of policy but necessary for clarity. Faculty have already raised situation-specific questions that still need to be resolved — for example: what happens if a faculty member submits grades with more flat A’s than the cap allows?
Risks: Students will spend the next year in uncertainty, and course rigor may become more uneven. Some faculty may start moving toward the policy while others don’t, but because the policy wouldn’t be implemented until Fall 2027, changes to what an A versus an A- mean in some classes during the 2026 academic year wouldn’t be reflected on transcripts. More broadly, students who are already wary of the proposal may feel the anxiety of its impending arrival without yet experiencing its intended benefits.
Bottom Line: Delayed implementation increases the odds of a smooth rollout, but Harvard should still set interim expectations and communicate progress to mitigate uncertainty.
On net, these updates are encouraging. While each addition introduces the risks we’ve mentioned, the proposal’s central premise of making A’s meaningful again remains intact.
The system’s built-in review in three year’s time adds another level of reassurance: this is neither a one-shot deal, nor set in stone. But that review will only be meaningful if Harvard sets clear goals, which makes the next step defining what “success” here looks like.
For now, the immediate question that remains is whether faculty will adopt the revised proposal and give the College the opportunity to do the harder work that follows: implementation, evaluation, and iteration.
Ask 1636
Send us your Harvard and higher education questions!
Q: Are there any updates on the 5 open positions at Harvard you said we should keep an eye on?
Four of the roles we flagged have since been filled. Warren Petrofsky has been appointed Dean of Administration and Finance for Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Jeita Deng is Dean of Administration and Finance for Harvard College; and Ranya Brooks has been named director of the Office of Belonging, Community, and Connection at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Alison Donnelly will be joining Harvard Kennedy School as Chief Financial Officer. The search for the next permanent Director of the Institute of Politics (IOP) is actively under way. We have not seen public announcements indicating changes or permanent successors for Harvard Medical School Dean for Students or Harvard Business School Executive Dean for Administration. (The total exceeds five because our original list counted three separate school-level financial leadership openings as a single grouped item.)
Events
Cambridge, MA and Virtual — April 9 from 5:30-7:00 pm ET: Harvard Graduate School of Education is hosting University Professor Danielle Allen (PhD ‘02) on the role of schools in civic education as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, with discussion focused on patriotism, pluralism, and democratic participation in polarized times. Register here.
Virtual & New York, NY — April 13 at 7:30 pm ET: President Alan Garber (AB ’76, PhD ’82) will speak with Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker at the 92nd Street Y about the pressures reshaping research universities and their role in American democracy. Register here.
Washington, DC — April 15 from 5:30-8:00 pm ET: Meet HKS Dean Jeremy Weinstein (PhD ‘03) at this HKS on the Road series event. Register here.
New York NY — April 30 from 7:00-9:00 pm ET: Meet HKS Dean Jeremy Weinstein at this HKS on the Road series event. Register here.
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FYIs
Harvard Faculty Senate Bylaws Delayed, Planning Body Enters Negotiations With University Administration
Harvard’s faculty senate planning body will enter formal negotiations with the University’s central administration, pushing final bylaws to Fall 2026.
The proposed faculty senate would be a 43-member advisory body meant to provide cross-University faculty input to Harvard’s central administration and governing boards.
After a February meeting with President Alan Garber (AB ’76, PhD ’82) and Provost John Manning (AB ’82, JD ’85), the planning body voted to delay submitting the bylaws (previously expected this academic year), while keeping the senate’s projected September 2027 launch date unchanged.
Negotiations will now run through a new eight-member working group — split evenly between planning body representatives and representatives of the Offices of the President and Provost — formed after Garber and Manning raised concerns about faculty representation across schools and how a new senate would operate alongside existing governance structures.
Proposed revisions include making Garber and Manning ex officio, non-voting members of the senate and replacing the draft’s nomination system with a candidate pool of all eligible faculty.
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Elects Seven to Faculty Council
Last week, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) recently elected seven professors to join its 19-member Faculty Council, the faculty committee that advises FAS Dean Hopi Hoekstra and among other responsibilities, hears appeals from the College’s disciplinary board, the Administrative Board (Ad Board).
In 2024, the Faculty Council intervened in the Ad Board’s decision to suspend 5 students and barred 13 others from graduating, resulting in the suspensions being overturned and all 13 seniors received their degrees.
Three professors were elected as at-large members: Emily Greenwood (Classics and Comparative Literature), David Atherton (East Asian Languages and Civilizations, AB ’00), and Sean Eddy (Molecular and Cellular Biology). Four professors were elected as divisional members: Regina “Gina” Schouten (Philosophy), Cora Dvorkin (Physics), Joshua Greene (Psychology, AB ’97), and Demba Ba (Electrical Engineering).
The new members will take office July 1 as the FAS weighs and possibly implements a proposal to cap flat A grades at the College, and continues cost-cutting amid its $350+ million structural budget deficit.
Several of the incoming members hold other roles at Harvard tied to various governance efforts at Harvard: Greene served on the faculty subcommittee that drafted the College’s grading policy proposal; Schouten sits on President Garber’s Faculty Advisory Council; Ba is part of the faculty senate planning body; and Eddy serves on the FAS Task Force on Workforce Planning, which is focused on administrative restructuring amid financial pressure.
Sylvia Burwell and Michael Chae To Join Harvard Corporation
Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell (AB ’87) and Blackstone CFO Michael Chae (AB ’90) will join the Harvard Corporation on July 1.
Burwell and Chae will replace Ken Chenault (JD ’76) and Karen Mills (AB ‘75, MBA ‘77), whose terms end in June. Biddy Martin also departed the Corporation earlier this year. Her replacement has not yet been announced.
Burwell, who is currently president of the Board of Overseers, will step down from that role when her term as Overseers president ends in May. Chae currently serves on the board of the Harvard Management Company, which manages the University’s endowment.
Because Burwell is joining the Corporation with three years remaining on her elected Overseer term, seven Overseers will be elected this year (up from six), with two serving partial terms. (Read 1636 Forum’s recommendations for Harvard’s 2026 Overseer & Harvard Alumni Association Director Elections here.)
Harvard Plans $675 Million Bond Sale
Harvard plans to issue $675 million in tax-exempt bonds (its third major debt sale in just over a year) according to a preliminary official statement released March 27.
A Harvard spokesperson said roughly $600 million of the issuance will refinance existing debt, while about $150 million will replace bonds nearing maturity; the transaction is not expected to materially change Harvard’s total debt.
Harvard’s preliminary official statement lists federal financial pressures — including restricted research funding, a new endowment tax, and curtailed federal student loan programs — as well as ongoing litigation and investigations, as standard risk disclosures for investors.
In its risk disclosures, the statement warns federal actions “may . . . have a material adverse effect on the current and future financial profile and operating performance of the University,” but says no pending or threatened lawsuits “would be likely to have a material adverse effect” on Harvard’s “ability to meet its commitments related to the Bonds.”
Moody’s and S&P reaffirmed Harvard’s AAA credit rating with a stable outlook.
In response to Harvard’s disclosure, the National Jewish Advocacy Center wrote that it “fails to provide sufficient disclosure concerning Harvard University’s role in fostering antisemitism and the resulting financial, regulatory, and reputational risks to investors.”
Harvard Grad Student Union Authorizes Strike if Needed With Overwhelming Voter Support
The Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers (HGSU-UAW) voted to authorize a strike, with 95.6% support after four weeks of voting.
The authorization allows the union’s bargaining committee to call a strike if negotiations continue to stall, though leaders said they still hope to avoid this measure.
Harvard and HGSU-UAW have entered their second year of contract negotiations, with issues including compensation, protections for non-citizen workers, and harassment and discrimination policies still unresolved.
HGSU-UAW represents Harvard PhD student workers, who play a central role in undergraduate instruction, as they often serve as course teaching fellows (TFs) for at least one semester.
Also this week, the Harvard Academic Workers-United Auto Workers union, which represents non-tenure-track researchers and instructors, also launched a strike authorization vote after 32 bargaining sessions with no first contract. Harvard recently reached union agreements with its custodians and security officers.
More News
More News at Harvard
The Crimson: “Penny Pritzker Says Harvard ‘Recommitting’ to Free Inquiry as Governing Boards Convene”
The Chronicle of Higher Education: “Harvard Was Once 25% Jewish. Now It’s 7%. What’s Going On?” — interview with University Professor Noah Feldman (AB ‘92)
The Crimson: “Harvard Says DOJ Lawsuit Rehashes Failed Funding Fight, Urges Judge to Transfer Case”
Wall Street Journal: “Harvard’s Push to Cap ‘A’ Grades Has Students Howling in Protest”
Fifteen Minutes (The Crimson): “Christopher Stubbs on Fly Fishing, AI, and Astropolitical Intrigue” — feat. Chris Stubbs, Harvard astronomy professor, former FAS Science Dean, and current chair of Harvard’s Generative AI Faculty Advisory Committee
The Crimson: “In Asia Trip, Harvard Divinity School Dean Marla Frederick Pitches Global Partnerships”
The Crimson: “Harvard College Plans AI Chatbot To Guide Students on Courses, Requirements Beginning This Summer”
Harvard Business School: “Harvard Business School Announces Spring 2026 Cohort of Executive Fellows”
Harvard Gazette: “‘Truth is rarely found in echo chambers’” — feat. HKS professor Julia Minson (AB ‘99)
The Crimson: “The Harvard College Debate Union Set a Motion on Jewish Emancipation. Two Days Later, The Club Pulled It.”
The Crimson: “Paul Ryan Critiques Harvard’s Approach to DEI, Links It to Broader Conservative Backlash at IOP Forum”
The Crimson: “Harvard College’s Housing Day Fundraising Challenge Brings in $276,000, Led by Adams House”
The Crimson: “The Editorial Board's Overseer Endorsements” — editorial by The Crimson Editorial Board
The Crimson: “An Unsatisfactory Grading Policy” — by The Crimson Editorial Board
The Crimson: “Dissent: Slow and Steady Wins the A” — dissenting opinion by Crimson Editorial Board members Taylor Beljon-Regen (AB ‘29), Scarlett Eldaief (AB ‘28), L.A. Karnes (AB ‘28), Yassin Mohamedy (AB ‘29), Kai Russell (AB ‘29), and Salma Siddiqui (AB ‘28)
Greater Good: “Four Steps for Inviting People to Discover Common Ground” — by HKS lecturer Simon Greer
The Crimson: “This is Not My “October 7th Story” — by Sarit Greenwood (AB ‘29)
The Crimson: “The Case for Military History at Harvard” — op-ed by Ava Ribaudo (AB ’27)
The Crimson: “Stop Panicking About Big Law” — op-ed by Michael Isayan (AB ’29)
The Crimson: “Harvard’s Having Too Much Fun” — op-ed by Sasha Cavell (AB ’29)
More News Beyond Harvard
Nature: “Half of social-science studies fail replication test in years-long project”
Franklin’s Forum (Penn): “Judge Rules Penn Must Release Jewish Employee Contact Information”
The Atlantic: “What an Ivy League Education Really Gets You” — feat. research by Economics professor Raj Chetty (AB ‘00, PhD ‘03) and Dean of Harvard College David Deming (PhD ‘16)
The Atlantic: “The Shocking Speed of China’s Scientific Rise”
Wall Street Journal: “These AI Whiz Kids Dropped Out of College and Got Investors to Pay Their Bills” — feat. Harvard dropouts
Columbia University: “Semi-Annual Report Columbia University Resolution Agreement” — Columbia’s semi-annual update to its outside monitor detailing compliance efforts with its settlement agreement with the federal government
Nature: “Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration”
New York Times: “Lawsuits Are the New Trump Tactic in the Fight to Overhaul Education”
Yale Daily News: “Instructors let go amid budget cuts, drawing flak on Yale’s priorities”
Yale Daily News: “McInnis praises Buckley Institute for inviting McMahon to speak”
Daily Princetonian: “Faculty to vote on the implementation of ‘universal’ proctoring”
Daily Princetonian: “Graduate student population to shrink, departments asked to trim expenses in FY2027 operating budget”
Columbia Spectator: “Protesters interrupt Students Supporting Israel’s event featuring Israeli military reservist and soldier”
Washington Free Beacon: “Columbia Student Union Demands ‘Academic Freedom’ To Protect Political Activism in the Classroom”
Chronicle of Higher Education: “The Real Problem Behind Grade Inflation”
The Atlantic: “The Question All Colleges Should Ask Themselves About AI”
Brandeis Center: “Landmark Ruling Protects Georgetown University Student’s Right to Speak Out Against Anti-Semitism, Dismisses All Claims - Brandeis Center”
Daily Princetonian: “The problem with the ADL’s ‘report card’” — by Princeton sophomore and Daily Princetonian Head Opinion Editor Charlie Yale
Note: In our Special Edition on 1636 Forum’s 2026 Overseer & Harvard Alumni Association Director Elections, we said our recommendations were listed in ballot order. However, ballot order may vary by voter, so your online ballot may display candidates in a different sequence.