Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education

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The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education is a proposal by the Trump administration to American universities. The compact would confer access to federal funds in exchange for agreeing to demands.[1] In a letter introducing the compact, Education Secretary Linda McMahon described it as supporting university students to "grow into resilient, curious, and moral leaders, inspired by American and Western values."[2] The compact purports to offer "multiple positive benefits" and "substantial and meaningful federal grants" to those universities that would abide by it.[1] Policy analyst Kevin Carey described the compact as "the newest escalation in Trump’s attempt to impose ideological dominance over" American higher education.[3][4][5]

The compact was proposed on October 1, 2025, to Brown University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt University.[2] It was sent along with a letter from Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, May Mailman, senior adviser for special projects at the White House, and Vincent Haley, director of the Domestic Policy Council.[6] On October 14, the administration extended the offer to sign the compact to any US higher education institution.[7]

On October 10, MIT rejected participation in the compact in a letter to McMahon.[8][9] Further rejections followed, from Brown University on October 15,[10][11] the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California on October 16,[12][13] the University of Virginia on October 17,[14] and Dartmouth College on October 18.[15][16] On October 20, the deadline given for feedback on the initial draft of the compact, the University of Arizona became the seventh of the nine invited universities to reject the proposal.[17] “We are not seeking any special treatment and believe in our ability to compete for federally funded research based solely on merit,” said Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Arizona.[18]

In October 2025, New College of Florida stated in a press release that they wanted to be the first school to sign the compact. New College was not one of the institutions initially invited to sign.[19]

Specific demands by the compact would include a cap on international undergraduate students of 15% and a tuition fee freeze for five years.[1] The text of the compact has been shared with multiple media outlets.[20]

Reactions

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The proposal was criticized variously as a violation of the free speech guarantee of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, ideological interference in science and academia, harming transgender students, and anti-immigrant. The administration was also criticized as untrustworthy, with some institutions having existing agreements now being met with new demands.[21][22]

Sian Leah Beilock, Dartmouth College's President, responded to the compact by vowing to "always defend our fierce independence" and stating, "We will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves."[23][24] Kevin Elte, head of the University of Texas Board of Regents, responded positively, stating, “Today we welcome the new opportunity presented to us and we look forward to working with the Trump Administration on it.”[25]

The American Association of Colleges and Universities issued a statement rejecting the Compact, and declaring that university administrators "cannot bargain with the essential freedom of colleges and universities to determine, on academic grounds, whom to admit and what is taught, how, and by whom."[24]

On October 15, president Christina Paxson publicly posted Brown University's response.[11]

On November 5, 2025, about 100 protesters at Vanderbilt University demanded that the university reject the compact.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Trump offers top universities funds if they boost conservative ideas". The Guardian. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Colleges weigh whether to sign onto Trump plan or forgo federal benefits". The Washington Post. 2025-10-03. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
  3. ^ Carey, Kevin (2025-10-04). "A Deal That Would End Universities' Independence". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  4. ^ "Trump asks 9 colleges to commit to his political agenda and get favorable access to federal money". The Washington Post. 2025-10-02. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-10-05. 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. A document sent to the universities encourages them to adopt the White House's vision for America's campuses, with commitments to accept the government's priorities on admissions , women's sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability, among other topics.
  5. ^ Chemerinsky, Erwin (2025-10-02). "Trump's 'Compact' With Universities Is Just Extortion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  6. ^ "U.Va. among nine universities offered to join initiative led by Trump administration". The Cavalier Daily - University of Virginia's Student Newspaper. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
  7. ^ Diep, Francie. "Trump Welcomes 'Any Institution' to Sign Onto Compact Outlining His Priorities". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  8. ^ Ogueh, Jada; Tang, Alex; Chu, Sabine. "MIT rejects federal compact". The Tech. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  9. ^ Kornbluth, Sally (2025-10-10). "Regarding the Compact". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  10. ^ "Brown University president declines invitation for Brown to join federal Compact". Brown University. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  11. ^ a b "Response Letter from Brown University President Christina Paxson to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon" (PDF). Brown University. Retrieved 2025-10-15.
  12. ^ Jameson, J. Larry (2025-10-16). "An Update on Penn's Response to the Compact for Academic Excellence". Penn Today. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
  13. ^ Miller, Daniel (2025-10-16). "USC rejects Trump education compact aimed at shifting the university to the right". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
  14. ^ Nietzel, Michael (October 18, 2025). "University Of Virginia Becomes 5th School To Decline Trump's Higher Ed Compact". Forbes. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  15. ^ Beilock, Sian Leah (2025-10-18). "Dartmouth's Feedback on the Compact". Dartmouth Office of the President. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  16. ^ Sullivan, Adam (2025-10-20). "Dartmouth College rejects Trump administration's academic excellence compact". WCAX. Retrieved 2025-10-21.
  17. ^ Marcos, Coral Murphy (October 20, 2025). "University of Arizona becomes seventh US college to reject Trump's 'compact'". The Guardian. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  18. ^ "7 universities reject White House funding deal with attached demands. Other schools have yet to respond". CNN.
  19. ^ Conroy, Edward (October 29, 2025). "Florida's New College Eager To Sign Trump's Compact With Higher Ed". Forbes. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  20. ^ "Read the full text of Trump's proposal for priority college funding". The Washington Post. 2025-10-03. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-10-03.
  21. ^ Alexa Gagosz; Anjali Huynh (October 2, 2025). "Brown, MIT, Dartmouth, and other elite colleges face fresh demands from Trump administration with new compact". The Boston Globe.
  22. ^ Diti Kohli; Brooke Hauser; Hilary Burns (October 4, 2025). "Trump makes MIT an offer, one many on campus hope the school can refuse". The Boston Globe.
  23. ^ "Response to the 'Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education' | Office of the President". president.dartmouth.edu. 2025-10-03. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  24. ^ a b Watson, Jamal (2025-10-05). "Higher Education Leaders Reject Trump Administration's "Compact for Academic Excellence"". The EDU Ledger. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  25. ^ "Trump asks 9 colleges to commit to his political agenda and get favorable access to federal money". The Washington Post. 2025-10-02. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  26. ^ Gilbert, Rose (November 5, 2025). "Vanderbilt community protests Trump administration's higher education compact". WPLN-FM. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
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