Trump demands 9 universities align with his agenda for federal funds

The White House has asked nine major U.S. universities to commit to President Donald Trump’s political priorities in exchange for enhanced access to federal funding. The request comes through a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which outlines government expectations for admissions, women’s sports, free speech, student discipline, and college affordability.

Colleges that sign the compact would gain priority access to federal grants, White House events, and meetings with officials, though funding would not be exclusively limited to participating schools. The 10-page agreement asks universities to adopt the government’s definition of gender for bathrooms, locker rooms, and women’s sports teams. It also requires eliminating race, gender, and other demographic considerations in admissions, while mandating that undergraduates take the SAT or ACT.

The compact targets nine selective institutions: Vanderbilt, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, University of Southern California, MIT, University of Texas, University of Arizona, Brown, and University of Virginia. While some, like UT Austin, expressed enthusiasm about the potential funding, other schools have yet to comment.

Additional stipulations include capping international student enrollment at 15% of the undergraduate body, with no more than 5% from a single country. Participating schools must freeze tuition for U.S. students for five years, with wealthiest campuses offering free tuition for students in “hard science programs.” Free speech protections require universities to promote diverse viewpoints and eliminate programs that suppress conservative ideas.

Compliance would be monitored through annual surveys of students and faculty, with enforcement handled by the Justice Department. Violating institutions would lose compact benefits for one year, increasing to two for repeated infractions. The compact emphasizes that schools may reject the terms but forfeit the associated federal advantages.