Seven Universities Reject Trump’s Higher Education Funding ‘Compact,’ with Two Still Weighing Proposal

Seven of nine universities that were initially offered the Trump Administration’s proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” have formally rejected it, with Arizona University becoming the latest school to deny the President’s proposal on Monday.

The compact, distributed by the White House on October 1, offered universities enhanced access to federal research funds if they agreed to a set of policy commitments aligned with President Donald Trump’s education agenda. The ten-point plan included provisions banning consideration of race or gender in admissions, defining gender based on “biological function,” restricting international enrollment, and abolishing campus organizations accused of “belittling conservative ideas.”

The 10-point compact, several points of which include multiple requirements, calls for:

• Banning the consideration of sex, ethnicity, race, nationality, political views, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious associations in admission or financial aid decisions
• Requiring standardized testing like the SAT or ACT in undergraduate applications
• Abolishing “institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas”
• Prohibiting “incitement to violence,” including the support of entities designated by the government as terrorist organizations
• Ensuring hiring does not consider sex, ethnicity, race, national origin, disability, or religion
• Guaranteeing institutional neutrality at all levels, including requiring all employees to abstain in their official capacity from actions or speech related to politics
• Committing to “grade integrity” and avoiding grade inflation or deflation for any non-academic reason
• Requiring “single-sex spaces” such as bathrooms and locker rooms
• Defining gender based on reproductive function and biological processes and requiring “fair competition” in sports
• Capping the amount of undergraduate students on foreign visas at a school at 15% or less and no more than 5% from any country
• Providing free tuition for students pursuing hard science programs at universities with an endowment exceeding $2 million per undergraduate student
• Disclosing all foreign funding

“Higher Education has lost its way, and is now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology,” Trump posted after the compact was sent. “My Administration is fixing this, and FAST, with our Great Reform Agenda in Higher Education.”

The White House asked colleges to provide feedback on the offer by Oct. 20. Here’s what they have said.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the first to reject the compact. In an Oct. 10 letter, MIT President Sally Kornbluth said the document “includes principles with which we disagree,” adding that it was “inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.”

Following MIT’s refusal, Brown University President Christina Paxson said on Oct. 15 that the proposal “would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance.” The next day, University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson echoed those concerns, emphasizing the university’s commitment to “merit-based achievement and accountability.”

Other universities quickly followed suit. USC’s Interim President Beong-Soo Kim wrote that while there were “areas of alignment,” linking research benefits to ideological compliance would “undermine the same values of free inquiry and academic excellence that the Compact seeks to promote.” UVA Interim President Paul Mahoney warned the deal would “erode confidence in American higher education,” while Dartmouth’s Sian Leah Beilock told faculty that “a compact — with any administration — is not the right approach to achieve academic excellence.”

In its Oct. 21 letter to the Department of Education, the University of Arizona reaffirmed its commitment to academic independence, stating, “Principles like academic freedom, merit-based research funding, and institutional independence are foundational and must be preserved.”

Vanderbilt University and UT Austin are the only institutions yet to issue formal rejections. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the university had been asked for feedback rather than a final decision, though he noted that “academic freedom, free expression, and independence are essential.”

At UT Austin, Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife expressed appreciation for the offer, calling it “an honor” that the system was selected for the proposal.

The compact is part of what analysts describe as a broadening White House effort to reshape higher education along ideological lines. Since Trump’s second term began, the Administration has withdrawn or redirected hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds from universities accused of noncompliance with conservative policy directives. 

A month after Trump’s inauguration, the Administration pulled $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University over alleged anti-semitism. In an ongoing battle with Harvard University, which refused to accede to demands including eliminating its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and overhauling its hiring practices, the Administration sought to cut all all the school’s funding and other ties to the federal government and to bar it from enrolling international students. The Administration has also withheld funding to other universities and slashed diversity-related research grants.