Part III: Why Grade Inflation Persists at Harvard, Despite Everyone Knowing About It

How Harvard's structure and prestige give it leverage no other college has.

October 20, 2025

In Part I, we unpacked the incentives that keep Harvard’s grades inflated. In Part II, we explored what it might take to break the cycle. In our final piece of the series, we turn to why Harvard is uniquely positioned to lead grade inflation reform, and why now is the time to act.

Part III: The Case for Harvard To Charge Ahead

“Recentering academics will be a defining feature of the year,” Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Dean Hopi Hoekstra told the faculty this month. Dean of Undergraduate Education Amanda Claybaugh has echoed that message to The New York Times and The Atlantic. For Harvard to name its own academic weaknesses so publicly is rare, and that honesty is itself a mark of leadership.

Fixing grade inflation means taking a deliberate leap: setting new expectations across higher education, even before others follow. In a system where inflated grades remain the norm, the first institution to change course will always face uncertainty. But if any university can prove that higher standards strengthen, rather than weaken, academic excellence, it’s Harvard:

Harvard’s professional schools shape postgraduate pipelines and outcomes. When Princeton tried to curb grade inflation in the 2000s, it did so without graduate programs in core fields like law, business, or medicine. Harvard, by contrast, can coordinate across the College and its Law, Business, Medical, and other schools to help its admissions offices interpret new grading distributions consistently.
Harvard’s prestige gives it cover to lead. Unlike universities reliant on rankings like U.S. News & World Report, Harvard can absorb short-term risk to strengthen long-term rigor. Clear communication that recalibration is about academic integrity and excellence, not punishment, could even enhance Harvard’s reputation and applicant pool.
The risks to students may be smaller than many assume. Princeton’s faculty found little hard evidence that tougher grading significantly hurt student job prospects or graduate school outcomes, despite students’ widespread fears it would.
Harvard can learn from past attempts. The takeaway from Princeton’s experience a decade ago is not that we need to discount quotas or curves altogether, but to understand where rigid systems faltered and where more flexible approaches, tailored by department or even course, could succeed.
Peer institutions are watching. When Princeton rolled back its deflation policy, some Harvard faculty like philosophy professor Edward Hall warned that the reversal would make reform elsewhere harder — a reminder that momentum in one place can shift norms everywhere.
Harvard has already begun. After the Classroom Social Compact Committee’s report, the FAS voted to update the College handbook to state that “students are expected to prioritize their coursework.” The College has launched a committee on grading reforms and Claybaugh has encouraged professors to grade more rigorously on their own.

But as we discussed in Part II, powerful incentives still push against rigor, which is why the next step must be a clear plan that turns acknowledgement into action and keeps momentum when inertia sets in.

Ask 1636

Send us your Harvard and higher education questions!

Q: What ever happened to the Taylor Swift class that Harvard College ran?

Offered in spring 2024, English 183ts: Taylor Swift and Her World drew over 200 students (mostly non-humanities concentrators) who expected a syllabus out of their wildest dreams centered on Swift herself. Instead, they found a more traditional English course pairing Swift’s lyrics with writers like Cather and Wordsworth. Students praised the professor’s enthusiasm, but the course gained a reputation for disorganization and grading that was rigorous yet inconsistent. It has not returned since, but is remembered all too well in Harvard folklore.

Events

New York, NY — October 28 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. ET: This Harvard College Fund reception will include updates from campus and research from biology professor Fei Chen and bioengineering professor Sriya Stinivasan. Register here.
Toronto, Canada — October 29 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. ET: Meet Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein at this HKS on the Road series event. Register here.
Cambridge, MA — November 6 from 7-8:30 p.m. ET: The MIT Free Speech Alliance’s Fall 2025 debate, “Are U.S. Colleges too Dependent on International Students?” will feature former Crimson Education COO David Freed (AB ‘16, AM ‘16), Boston College professor Chris Glass, James Fishback, and Nathan Halberstadt, moderated by MIT professor and edX founder Anant Agarwal. Register here.
Los Angeles, CA — November 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. PT: This Harvard College Fund reception will include updates from campus and research from biology professor Erin Hecht and earth and planetary sciences professor Brendan Meade. Register here.
Cleveland, OH — November 13 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET: Harvard Divinity School (HDS) and the Harvard Club of Northeast Ohio are hosting a reception with HDS Dean Marla Frederick. Register here.
New York, NY — November 18 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. ET: Harvard Business School (HBS) and the HBS Club of New York are hosting a reception for alumni with additional career planning workshops for recent graduates. Register here.

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FYIs

Majority of Harvard’s Frozen Federal Research Funding Has Been Restored

Harvard has received most of its frozen federal research funding, following U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs’ early September ruling overturning the government’s freeze on the University’s multi year grants and contracts.
In its announcement to faculty, the University did not specify the dollar amount restored. In FY24, Harvard received roughly $687 million in federally-sponsored research funding.
In a follow-up message, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Dean Andrea Baccarelli said the school would ease internal spending restrictions. Under revised guidance, principal investigators can now spend up to 80% of their federal awards, academic salary cuts have been lifted, and outgoing subawards may resume. Baccarelli still urged faculty to keep new hiring “to a minimum.”
Other schools have not eased austerity measures. At Harvard Medical School (HMS), which has struggled to balance budgets over the last two decades, Dean George Daley (AB ’82) said HMS will proceed with a 20% cut to research spending, citing uncertainty around future federal funding and long-term pressures such as the new 8% federal endowment tax.
For more on Harvard’s finances, see our special edition on its FY25 financial report.

HMS Cancels Pro-Palestine Vigil Hours Before Start, Citing Policy Violations

Harvard Medical School (HMS) canceled a pro-Palestine vigil last week roughly five hours before it was set to begin, citing violations of campus use policies.
The event was organized by two recognized student groups, the Student Alliance for Health Equity in Palestine and the Student Human Rights Collaborative, and was intended to “mourn the martyrs” and those “that Israel has massacred in Gaza in their ongoing genocide and campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.”
Although the vigil had received prior administrative approval, HMS administrators later said organizers violated campus policies and “introduced substantial risks to the safety of our community” by distributing unauthorized flyers, collaborating with an unrecognized student group, and promoting the event beyond a Harvard ID-only audience. Some social media graphics described the event as open to “Harvard affiliates only,” while others stated “invites all.”
Organizers called the cancellation “profoundly troubling,” saying they had followed all administrative guidance, including a midweek venue change due to security concerns.
The cancellation is the first time HMS’s revised campus use rules have been used to call off a planned demonstration, according to The Crimson.

District Judge Issues Final Order in Harvard’s Federal Funding Case

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs has entered final judgment in Harvard’s federal funding suit against the government, officially closing the case at the district court level.
The judgment, which formalizes Burroughs’ earlier ruling, reflects language jointly submitted by Harvard and the government and confirms three outcomes:
- The grant freezes and termination actions against Harvard are legally void.
- The government is prohibited from reissuing those same freezes or terminations, or from taking similar actions like blocking grants or contracts, if done in retaliation for speech or without following Title VI.
- The court's ruling in Harvard’s favor on core constitutional and statutory claims is now final and can be appealed. These claims include violations of the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The court also said it would retain jurisdiction over attorneys’ fees.
The government previously signaled its plans to appeal. Now that final judgment has been entered, that appeal can proceed (if the government still chooses to file one).

Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, USC, UVA Reject White House Compact on Federal Research Funding; All U.S. Universities Invited to Sign On

Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia, and the University of Arizona have joined MIT in rejecting the White House’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. The Compact offers preferential access to federal research funding in exchange for commitments including ideological rebalancing, tuition freezes, and international enrollment caps.
Each university expressed concern that the Compact could undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and the principle that research funding should be awarded based on merit. While rejecting the current proposal, all indicated openness to continued dialogue with the federal government on Compact feedback and alternative frameworks that preserve independence.
Franklin’s Forum, a Penn alumni group similar to 1636 Forum, applauded the rejections and urged the group of universities declining the Compact to still unite around shared principles and craft a collective vision for the future of higher education.
Of the 9 universities originally offered the Compact, 7 have now declined. Of the 2 remaining, UT Austin has not released a decision, while Vanderbilt said it would “continue to share [its] point of view with the administration.” Feedback is due today, October 20.
Meanwhile, the White House has extended the Compact invitation to all U.S. universities and reportedly recently met with others to gather input, including Arizona State and Washington University in St. Louis.

More News

More News at Harvard:

Harvard Magazine: “Harvard’s New Playbook for Teaching with AI”
Boston Globe: “He was wait-listed at Harvard as a high schooler. Now he’s a billionaire crucial to the university’s Trump negotiations.”
WCVB: “After funding halt, Harvard nurses health study scrambles to save 50 years of samples”
Terms of Engagement: “Is Trump’s higher education compact a bad deal but a good opportunity?” — podcast episode on the University Compact feat. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) professor Archon Fung, HKS Ash Center fellow Stephen Richer, and government professor Danielle Allen
The Crimson: “Eight International Students at Harvard, Watching America Close Its Doors
The Crimson: “After QuOffice’s Closure, Its Staff Are No Longer Confidential Resources for Students Reporting Sexual Misconduct”
The Crimson: “Harvard On Track To Reach Net-Zero Emissions by 2026, Sustainability Report Finds”
The Crimson: “What College Rankings Are Missing” — op-ed by School of Public Health professor Tyler VanderWeele (PhD ‘06) and Associate Director for Research at the Human Flourishing Program Brandon Case
The Crimson: “Harvard Must Choose Engagement Over Censorship” — editorial by The Crimson Editorial Board
The Crimson: “Trainings Can’t Stop Religious Bigotry. Here’s What Can.” — op-ed by Ira Sharma (AB ’28)
The Crimson: “History 10 and the Fear of Facts” — op-ed by Amelia Barnum (AB ’28)
The Crimson: “Harvard Students Aren’t Responsible For the Nation’s Flaws” — op-ed by L.A. Karnes (AB ‘28)

More News Beyond Harvard:

Cornell Daily Sun: “Cheyfitz Retires Amid Discrimination Investigation Over Confrontation With Israeli Student in Gaza Class”
Columbia Daily Spectator: “Li Lu, CC ’96, Business ’96, Law ’96, gifts $15 million for Law School Library renovation after previous donor withdraws”
Columbia Sundial: “Why Don’t Columbia’s Pro-Palestinian Advocates Care About the Ceasefire?” — by Columbia sophomores Oren Hartstein and Nikos Mohammadi.
Yale Daily News: “Statement denouncing Yale donation to pro-Israel group fails at YCC”
Bloomberg: “MIT Scores 15% Gain to Boost Fund to $27 Billion, Warns of Taxes”
MIT Free Speech Alliance: “MFSA Assessment of the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”
Daily Northwestern: “Class-action lawsuit challenges Northwestern bias training”
New York Times: “What Happened to Campus Activism Against the War in Gaza?”
The Free Press: “Without Books We Will Be Barbarians” — by former Harvard professor Niall Ferguson
Eternally Radical Idea: “Is Higher Education even interested in reform?” — by Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) president Greg Lukianoff, Sarah Lawrence College professor Samuel Abrams (PhD ‘10), and FIRE Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Adam Goldstein
Wall Street Journal: “Donald Trump Isn’t a University President” — op-ed by former U.S. senator and Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander
Wall Street Journal: “Trump, Merit and MIT” — editorial by WSJ Editorial Board
New York Times: “Trump’s Crackdown on Chinese Students Ignores a Startling New Reality” — op-ed by Bethany Allen and Jenny Wong Leung of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Expression (Substack of FIRE): “Student trust in Ivy Leagues is declining — thanks to Harvard, Penn, and Columbia” — by Chapin Lenthall-Cleary, co-founder and co-editor of the Penn Heretic
Balkanization: “The Art of Replacing the Law with the Deal” — by UCLA law professor Joseph Fishkin
Yale Daily News: “A bold proposal for Yale” — op-ed by Yale french and humanities professor Howard Bloch
Brown Daily Herald: “In defense of the pre-professional first-year student” — op-ed by Brown junior Lucas Guan

Note: In our special edition on Harvard’s FY25 financial report, we wrote that total HBS gifts and pledges “dropped roughly 17% to $121 million from $145 million record.” That should have read “$145 million recorded in FY24.” Just a typo, not a record.