The White House has asked nine prominent universities to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities in exchange for more access to federal funds. The institutions have been asked to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which would commit them to following the government’s agenda on admissions, women’s sports, free speech, student discipline, affordability, and other areas, as per the PTI reports. According to a White House official, universities that sign the compact would receive priority access to certain federal grants, though funding would not be restricted only to those institutions. In addition, colleges that agree to the terms would be given preference for participation in White House events and direct engagement with government officials.
The compact, reviewed by The Associated Press on Thursday, calls on universities to adopt the government’s definition of gender and enforce it across campus facilities, including bathrooms, locker rooms, and women’s sports teams.
White House Sends Policy Compact to Top Universities
The compact asks colleges to stop considering race, gender, and other student demographics in admissions and to require undergraduate applicants to take the SAT or ACT. The 10-page proposed agreement was sent on Wednesday to several highly selective public and private universities, including Vanderbilt, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, MIT, the University of Texas, the University of Arizona, Brown University, and the University of Virginia. It is unclear why these schools were chosen or whether similar proposals will be offered to other colleges.
Leaders of the Texas system expressed that they were “honoured” to have the Austin campus included in the compact and recognised its “potential funding benefits,” according to a statement by Kevin Eltife, chair of the Board of Regents. “We welcome this new opportunity and look forward to collaborating with the Trump Administration on it,” Eltife added.
Compact Sets New Rules for Colleges on Enrollment, Tuition
Representatives from the other universities have not responded to requests for comment. The administration has previously used federal funding as leverage with other colleges, cutting research money at institutions like Harvard and Columbia to push for changes in governance and policies.
According to the compact, colleges would need to limit international students to 15 percent of their undergraduate population, with no more than 5 percent coming from a single country — a rule that would affect many elite schools that currently exceed these limits. Colleges that agree to the compact would also have to freeze tuition for U.S. students for five years. The wealthiest schools would be required to offer free tuition for students in “hard science” programmes.
On free speech, schools would have to ensure the promotion of diverse viewpoints on campus. This includes “transforming or removing institutional units that punish, belittle, or encourage violence against conservative ideas,” as stated in the compact.
Compliance Rules Outlined in White House University Compact
Each university would be required to conduct an annual survey of students and faculty to assess how well the campus is following the terms of the compact. The Justice Department would enforce these rules, with schools that violate them losing access to the compact’s benefits for at least one year. Repeat violations would result in a two-year penalty. The compact also states, “Institutions of higher education are free to adopt models and values different from those outlined here if they choose to forgo federal benefits.”