White House Offers Compact Tying Benefits to Campus Policies

The White House sent a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” to nine universities — Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, USC, MIT, Brown, University of Texas, University of Arizona and the University of Virginia — offering preferential access and priority for federal grants and White House engagement in exchange for adopting a 10-point agenda. The memo asks schools to cap international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, freeze tuition for five years, require standardized-entry exams (and consider the Classic Learning Test), and bar consideration of race, sex or gender identity in admissions and hiring. It also asks institutions to use biological definitions of gender for restrooms and women’s sports, commit to protecting “academic freedom,” transform or abolish units said to punish conservative ideas, and enforce civility rules to limit disruptive protests. Supporters say signatories would receive competitive advantages, but the administration says funding would not be limited only to compact signatories. Critics including the AAUP, American Federation of Teachers and free‑speech groups called the compact coercive and likened it to a loyalty oath that threatens academic freedom. Observers note the move represents a shift from punitive threats to reward-based incentives, previous pressure efforts have faced legal roadblocks, and it is unclear whether there is a deadline or wider rollout.