White House Proposes Compact for Academic Excellence to Nine Top Universities

Tue Oct 14 2025 20:38:30 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a strategic move, the White House has approached nine prestigious universities to sign off on a new academic compact that aligns with President Trump's educational policies, offering potential funding advantages in return.

The White House has put forth a proposal for a 'Compact for Academic Excellence' to nine major universities, asking them to align with specific policies regarding admissions, free speech, and tuition caps in exchange for priority access to federal funding. The compact demands adherence to a definition of gender and limits on international enrollment, among other stipulations. Universities like Vanderbilt and MIT have been specifically targeted for this agreement, signaling a significant shift in federal influence over higher education.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is asking nine major universities to commit to President Donald Trump’s political priorities in exchange for more favorable access to federal money.

Universities were asked to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” committing them to adopt the White House’s vision for America’s campuses. It demands adherence to the government’s priorities on admissions, women’s sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability, among other topics.

Signing on would give universities priority access to some federal grants, but funding is not exclusive to those schools, according to a White House official who requested anonymity. Colleges that agree would also gain priority access to White House events and discussions with officials.

The compact, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, asks universities to accept the government’s definition of gender and apply it to campus bathrooms, locker rooms and women’s sports teams. It requires colleges to stop considering race, gender, and other demographics in the admissions process and enforce the SAT or ACT requirement for undergraduate applicants.

The 10-page proposed agreement was sent Wednesday to selective public and private universities including 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. It was unclear how these institutions were selected or if the offers will also go to other colleges.

Leaders of the Texas university system expressed being “honored” to be chosen, optimistic about the funding advantages. Texas Board of Regents Chair, Kevin Eltife, stated, “Today we welcome the new opportunity presented to us and we look forward to working with the Trump Administration on it.”

Other colleges did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

This plan is not the first time the administration has leveraged federal funding to influence university governance and policies, having previously cut off research money to campuses like Harvard and Columbia.

Under the compact, international enrollment would face a 15% cap per college, with no single country exceeding 5%. Schools would also need to maintain capped tuition over five years, with the richest campuses offering free tuition for students in “hard science programs.”

The compact encourages promoting diverse views on campus, necessitating the transformation or abolition of units that may suppress conservative ideas. Each school must also conduct an annual poll evaluating adherence to the pact, with penalties for violations leading to a revocation of benefits.

“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below,” the compact states, “if the institution elects to forego federal benefits.”