The work of the CUP Subcommittee on the Educational Commons built on the final report of the Task Force on the Undergraduate Educational Commons, taking into account reactions to that report by the wider MIT community following its presentation to the President in October 2006.

In the Fall of 1999 the Committee on the Undergraduate Program formed a subcommittee and charged it with reviewing MIT’s policies concerning freshman Pass/No Record grading and advanced placement examinations.

Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart charged the Committee on Academic Performance and the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education with reviewing MIT's withdrawal and readmission processes.