Harvard faculty approved a policy to curb grade inflation by limiting the proportion of A grades professors can award. The plan, effective fall 2027, is designed to restore differentiation between top performance and broader coursework expectations. Under the new rules, instructors can award A’s to no more than 20% of enrolled students plus four additional students. In a 20-student class, that caps A’s at eight; in a class of 80, the cap would be 20, while other grades—including A-minus—are not capped. Supporters say the policy strengthens meaning in grades, while critics argue it undermines faculty autonomy and imposes an arbitrary quota on academic achievement. For higher education institutions, Harvard’s action is a bellwether for how elite universities may respond to grade inflation pressures with measurable constraints—potentially affecting transcript signaling, honors thresholds, and assessment culture.