This spring semester, the Middlebury Economics department instituted a department-wide threshold of 95% for an A-grade. The department previously had no standardized cutoff; prior to this policy, individual faculty members used 93%, 94%, or 95%.
The department oversees students majoring in Economics, and International Politics and Economics (IP&E) — which, when combined, accounted for nearly 25% of last year’s graduating class. Currently there are 388 Economics majors and 147 IP&E majors.
Erick Gong, professor of economics and a faculty member who helped lead the effort, said the policy emerged from concerns about grade inflation.
“As a department, we have been looking at the grade distribution, and we were like ‘Wow, we give a lot of As,’” Gong said in an interview with the Campus. “We would like the A to be a meaningful reflection of mastery.”
According to Gong, last year, 48% of grades awarded in Economics were As — a figure that rises to over 70% when A- are included — which is relatively in line with college trends, according to Gong.
Gong said grade inflation can discourage academic risk-taking.
“[Grade inflation] creates these perverse incentives [where] students are desperately afraid to get an A- so they no longer are taking risks. They’re going to just take classes where [they] know [they’re] going to get an A,” Gong said. “That is antithetical to a liberal arts education.”
These developments are part of a nationwide conversation many colleges are having about grade inflation. At Harvard, a 2025 report — which Gong consistently referenced — found that more than 60% of grades awarded are As, leading to a faculty proposed 20% cap on As.
While the policy only affects the A and A- grades, it is also meant to have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the scale.
“We think that this policy actually helps students,” Gong said. “[With the current policy,] if a student gets a B+, they’re going to think ‘Oh! It’s the end of the world’ but that’s not the case. If you have higher grading standards [...] a B becomes more meaningful.”
“[Only] the small percentage of students between the 93% and 95% threshold [are actually going to be affected],” Gong said. Based on data from the past three years, the department’s introductory-level courses would most likely be the least affected, according to him.
Obie Porteous, associate professor of economics, said the new cutoff would have little impact on his courses. Porteous previously set his A threshold at 94%.
“I am adjusting my rubrics, so I am not expecting the change in cutoffs to change the number of students getting different grades in my classes,” Porteous said. “I have always tried to maintain a high standard for an A grade in my classes because I believe that As should recognize excellence. I am not changing these high standards.”
One concern circulating among students is that grade deflation measures could have lasting effects on their post-graduate plans.
“Middlebury is systematically at a disadvantage [compared to] places [...] like Wharton that have the business and finance classes that give their students an edge. There is a complete difference between 4.0 at Middlebury and a 4.0 at Wharton,” Klaé Parchment ’28 said. “Making it even harder for students to get a high GPA [here] just puts us at a further disadvantage for hiring, irrespective of how much knowledge we have.”
"I think that most employers and grad schools have no clue whether or not Midd changes grading policies, and unless it’s simultaneously occurring at other institutions, then grads may be at a relative disadvantage to others,” Jeffrey Teh '28 said. “However it still is necessary otherwise grades and latin honors are no longer a useful metric for employers and grad schools to determine who’s a strong performer or not"
In an email to the Campus, Bob Crawley ’94, a managing director at Moelis & Company, a global investment bank, said grades remain important in economics-related fields.
“No recruiter would appreciate that Midd has a higher standard to get an A, so it just seems like there would be downside risk from the student’s perspective,” Crawley wrote.
Gong said the department was careful not to take any drastic steps.
“We don’t want this to dramatically harm people’s career prospects.”
“I’ve talked to recruiters; a lot of them don’t think grades are meaningful anymore because of grade inflation,” Gong said. “What really distinguishes candidates [are] how they do an interview and what work experience do they have.”
Executive Director of Middlebury’s Center for Careers and Internships (CCI), Ursula Olender, offered a more measured view.
“Grades still matter, particularly as an initial screening tool, but they are only one part of how employers and graduate programs evaluate Middlebury students,” Orlender said. “Recruiters consistently tell us they’re looking beyond GPA to assess analytical thinking, communication skills, teamwork, and leadership, as well as how students have applied their learning through internships, research, and other experiences.”
Gong emphasized that the policy is still in its early stages.
“We are moving in a small incremental step,” Gong said. “We are going to look at the results, the grade distributions, and course response forms. We will also be in contact with the CCI [to see] how recruiting is being affected. We are going to take these inputs and come together as a department [...] and see what we are going to do from here.”
