Six U.S. Universities Reject Trump Administration's College Compact

The Trump administration set a deadline for nine universities to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, which ties preferential federal funding to commitments aligned with the administration's political priorities. The compact requires schools to bar transgender individuals from using facilities and sports corresponding to their gender identities, freeze tuition for five years, limit international student enrollment, and mandate standardized tests for admissions. Six of the nine universities, including MIT, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia, and Dartmouth College, have publicly declined to sign, citing conflicts with academic freedom, merit-based funding, and the compact's overall approach. MIT President Sally Kornbluth emphasized that funding should be based on scientific merit alone, while Dartmouth's president expressed doubts about the efficacy of such a compact. The White House held a virtual meeting with universities that had not yet rejected the proposal, but dissent continued. This initiative follows the administration's prior cancellation of billions in federal research grants over issues such as transgender policies and diversity programs, sparking ongoing debate about academic autonomy and federal funding conditions.