Trump Asks 9 Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Secure Funding Benefits

The Trump administration has sent letters to nine major universities, requesting their signatures on a compact that will commit them to President Trump’s political priorities in exchange for access to federal grants and other benefits.

Although it is unclear why the nine universities were selected, the 10-page documents were sent on Wednesday to Vanderbilt, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, the University of Arizona, Brown University, and the University of Virginia.

Change in Admissions Process

Referred to as the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”, it calls on the selected universities to adhere to the White House’s priorities on topics such as admissions, women’s sports, student discipline and free speech. Such priorities include the government’s definition of gender as “according to reproductive function and biological processes”, which is to be applied to campus bathrooms, locker rooms, and women’s sports teams. In admissions processes, the compact aims to encourage “a vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus” with “no single ideology dominant, both along political and other relevant lines” by removing factors like race and gender from consideration. It would also be required of undergraduate applicants to take the SAT or ACT.

The document goes on to underscore the requirement of a 15% cap on international students, with no more than 5% coming from any single country. The views of students and faculty themselves are to be evaluated to ensure a diverse mix of perspectives are reflected among them. To do so, the compact asks for steps to be taken in “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

Universities in agreement would take on a mandatory five-year tuition freeze for U.S. students. Those with endowments exceeding $2 million per undergraduate student would further be required to waive tuition for students enrolled in ‘hard science’ programs. However, schools would be exempt from freezing tuition for students from “families of exceptional means.”

Reshaping Higher Education

The compact represents a renewed attempt by the Trump administration to reshape the American higher education system. Where previously, as with Harvard University’s $2 billion federal funding freeze, threats were made, the White House now takes an incentive-based approach. The agreement writes that it “will yield multiple positive benefits for the school, including allowance for increased overhead payments where feasible, substantial and meaningful federal grants, and other federal partnerships.”

Response from the selected universities has been varied. The University of Texas System Board of Regents chairman Kevin Eltife stated the system is “honored” to have been included by the Trump administration.

“We enthusiastically look forward to engaging with university officials and reviewing the compact immediately,” Eltife said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom however, released a statement on Thursday asserting that if any university in the state of California is to sign the compact, they will “instantly” lose access to state funding, including Cal Grants, a $2.8 billion student financial aid program.

“California will not bankroll schools that sell out their students, professors, researchers, and surrender academic freedom,” said the governor.