New University of Michigan grading plan halted after backlash

The president of the University of Michigan has halted a plan to forgo letter grades for some first-year students after receiving backlash over the proposed system.

The university planned in fall 2027 for first-year students in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts to go without normal letter grades on their transcripts and instead receive a “pass” or “no credit.”

University President Domenico Grasso wrote Monday to faculty the proposal will be halted to “allow for further input, analysis, and discussion.”

Grasso said media coverage of the issue “distorted narratives about our intentions and, most concerningly, about the academic strength and resilience of our students.”

The backlash to the plan came from those concerned that the new grading system was a sign of academic decline from the university.

“I worry further that our students could bear the consequences of those misperceptions, including being unfairly portrayed as coddled or unprepared for the demands of a rigorous Michigan education,” Grasso said.

Grading practices have come under the spotlight because of concerns of “grade inflation” at universities. The University of Michigan is not the first to propose this grading system, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology already implementing a similar system for its freshmen.