The Ethics Exchange: Grade Inflation and the State of Teaching in the College

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

Amanda Claybaugh, Dean of Undergraduate Education, recently announced a new era of “academic refocusing” and stricter grading standards in an email that landed like a small thunderclap across Harvard College. In less than twenty-four hours, The Crimson published four articles, and Sidechat (along with every student group chat) was humming with speculation, exasperation, and debate.

Join us for lunch and lively conversation about what’s really at stake. Is grade deflation a principled effort to re-center teaching, learning, and intellectual seriousness? Or does it risk deepening the spiral of stress, anxiety, and performative rigor that already defines so much of undergraduate life? Can “refocusing” truly renew the classroom, or is it simply a new story about scarcity and merit?

We’ll prioritize student voices, but warmly invite TFs and faculty to join, listen, and share their perspectives.