Some feared that Harvard could be ready to pay even more than other Ivy League schools did to settle disputes with the White House.

Harvard President Alan Garber told faculty that there is no set deal, and that talks with the government have been “on-again, off-again,” sources told GBH News.

The White House views a payment of $500 million by Harvard University as a floor in negotiations for a settlement, and the cost of a deal could climb far higher if the school doesn’t submit to government oversight provisions,