After months of departmental review of grading procedures, administrators will recieve a set of faculty suggestions on how to curb grade inflation today.

But most professors agree that getting the Harvard Faculty to agree on any concrete proposal to adress grade inflation will be no easy task.

In December, Dean of Undergraduate Education Susan G. Pedersen ’81-’82 gave department chairs 16 years of grading data for classes taught in their department as a way to initiate a discussion among the Faculty on grade inflation—with the directive to report back to her by today.

Pedersen says she hopes that through this discussion, the Faculty can arrive at some consensus.

“This isn’t a Faculty that anyone imposes anything on,” she says.

Such a lack of agreement among Faculty was the problem five years ago when the issue of grade inflation last came before the Education Policy Committee (EPC). The committee advises the dean of the Faculty and the dean of undergraduate education on curricular matters.

The issue resurfaced again last spring as part of the EPC’s periodic review of grading procedures.

In order to make this year’s effort more productive, Pedersen established a subcommittee of the EPC to focus on grade inflation. This subcommittee will review the reports submitted by the departments and report back to the entire committee.

The EPC then hopes to bring a recommendation for grading reform to a vote before the full Faculty by the end of the academic year.

A Question of Autonomy

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Jeffrey Wolcowitz notes that there is a split between those Faculty members who want to maintain their autonomy in grading and those who are requesting guidance.

“Faculty autonomy is of great value and should not be breached lightly,” says Pearson Professor of Modern Mathematics and Mathematical Logic Warren D. Goldfarb ’69.

According to some, such a belief leaves grading at the prerogative of the individual professor.

“Even department chairs never get involved [in grading]—no one wants to be a policeman,” says Richard A. Wrangham, Moore professor of biological anthropology and head tutor of the anthropology department.

But Williams Professor of History and Political Science and Chair of the Department of Government Roderick MacFarquhar says maintaining such independence stands in the way of an effective means to check grade inflation.