The University of Michigan’s recently announced plan not to give letter grades to some first-semester students – citing a "mental health crisis" among college-aged students – has sparked concern and criticism from some education experts.

“The hallmark of a strong undergraduate education is that students work hard, tackle challenging content, deal with adversity, and emerge as more thinkers and citizens,” Frederick Hess, fellow and director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, recently told Just the News. “This certainly cuts against all of that.”

The pilot program will be for students in the university's College of Literature, Science and the Arts. And the program is set to begin in fall 2027.

According to a fact sheet released earlier this month, the students will receive grades of either pass (P) or no credit (NC) on all courses their first semester. And the grades will not be counted on students’ official transcript, nor factored into their Grade Point Average. However, they will receive assignment grades and instructor feedback in every course. 

"Helping all students establish early momentum has been recognized as the most important element in U-M’s campus-wide Student Success Initiative," the university says. "We believe that covering grades will help students start strong and curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals."

Experts such as Deborah J. Conan, who has a doctorate degree and is a former university professor, argue the effort won't improve the underlying issues young people face.

“Concealing grades is an exercise in denial, which is antithetical to showing students how to manage mental health issues,” she wrote in Psychology Today in response to the program. 

“When students elect to attend college, it may be for the whole of the experience, yet arguably a centerpiece of it is mastery of coursework. It’s baffling to remove the evaluative aspect of that endeavor before students even arrive, all in the name of mental health.”

She also argues, “Neither the origin nor the solution to the problem of students’ mental health is grades. 

“When I reflect on the thousands of hours I’ve spent listening to students, I’m reminded that grades are typically the smallest part of their despair and fear. Instead, I hear about the anguish and stress of family dynamics, grief and death, dating violence and sexual assault, the impact of social media, and fears about the brokenness of the world.”

A Harvard study found that the most commonly-cited reasons for anxiety and depression in young adults were "lack of meaning and purpose" (58%), financial worries (56%) and achievement pressure (51%), a "sense that things are falling apart” (45%) as well as not feeling like they mattered (44%).

Additionally, roughly 73% of Gen Z report feeling lonely "sometimes or always," a Cigna study revealed.  

Still, Conon argues that withholding grades will not mitigate such issues.  

"They “serve as an important barometer that assists faculty in early intervention with struggling students, reaching out to them with care and concern," she said. "These conversations need to happen without any sugarcoating.”

A 22-year-long analysis on so-called "grade inflation" – in which teachers reward too many high grades – at the graduate-school level  found that inaccurate representation of academic progress hurts students by failing to reveal learning gaps that allow for early intervention, in addition to improperly “inform[ing] employers and admission decisions in the labor market and academic selection.”

Grade inflation and ‘No fail’/‘No zero’ policies are frequently criticized for lowering educational standards and undermining academic rigor – while shielding students from any meaningful accountability or incentive to perform well.

“Unfortunately, higher ed has retreated so far from rigor or expectations – between grade inflation, electives, reduced reading loads, and the rest--that it has gutted student work and compromised the integrity of a college education,” AEI's Frederick Hess told JTN. 

The University of Michigan has previously been scrutinized over possible grade inflation following a sharp incline in top marks. Between 2012 and 2022, As and A-minuses awarded at the premier public university rose by an average of 13.3% across all campuses. 

“If Michigan were simultaneously bolstering reading loads, combating grade inflation, mandating attendance, and restricting devices, I could potentially imagine a case for something like this,” Hess argued. “But, in isolation, it seems like yet another unfortunate retreat from rigor and responsibility.”

Trends such as these are common at higher education institutions across the U.S., leading grade inflation researcher Stuart Rojstaczer to declare that grades have been “diluted to a level that they are meaningless.”

The University of Michigan’s “grade covering” program comes amidst a broader decline in trust in higher education to properly educate and prepare students for the workforce.

On August 3, Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to colleges and universities, urging them to respond to cratered public confidence with reforms.

The secretary prompted institutions to renew their commitment to merit-based admissions, the free exchange of ideas, intellectual pluralism, ensure affordable, high-return degrees, promote academic rigor and end grade inflation, resist foreign influence, and ultimately, serve the American people.

Higher education has been a particular point of focus for the second Trump administration, and President Trump has issued at least eight executive orders to hold institutions accountable as of mid-August.