Harvard faculty approved a plan that caps the share of A grades instructors can award, effective fall 2027, as the university moves to curb long-running grade inflation debates. Under the policy, A grades are limited to 20% of enrolled students in a course, with four additional A grades permitted; A-minus and other grades are not capped. Faculty voting results indicate broad support for limiting top grades in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, with the change framed as making grades “mean what they say.” The policy also includes adjustments to how students are compared for internal honors, shifting from GPA-based measures toward average percentile rank. Critics warned the cap could undermine faculty autonomy and disadvantage students competing for employers and graduate programs, while student opposition has surfaced in previous campus surveys. The Harvard decision adds momentum to a broader accountability conversation about whether high GPAs still signal exceptional performance in selective environments, and it gives other universities a concrete model for grading controls.