By: TPS Staff

The Trump administration has introduced a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which it says will raise university standards, improve performance, and eliminate discrimination on campuses. If signed, the compact will provide universities a range of benefits, including priority access to federal funds, preferential treatment under the tax code, increased research funding, and more.

To qualify for these benefits, universities must adopt the compact’s model, which addresses several concerns the administration has raised about higher education. These include grade integrity, student equality, institutional neutrality, and race/sex in the admissions and hiring process. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, key provisions of the contract include a five-year tuition freeze, banning race or sex in hiring and admissions, requiring applicants to take the SAT or a similar standardized test, capping international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, and curbing grade inflation.

The White House initially sent the compact to nine different universities it considers committed to higher-quality education. Schools that choose not to sign won’t see cuts to their federal funding but won’t receive the same benefits offered under the compact.

Critics argue that the initiative represents government overreach. There is concerns that schools that choose to sign on may experience instability due to the potential change of associated benefits under future administrations. MIT has been the first institution to formally reject the compact, stating that it already meets or exceeds many of the proposed standards. The remaining universities that received the initial offer are still reviewing the proposal and have yet to make a decision.

Outline of the full proposal here.