The Trump administration has urged nine US universities to sign a multi-point agreement that would give them preferential access to federal funding in exchange for adopting a series of academic and policy standards, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The administration issued a detailed 10-point memo called the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” designed to improve university standards and performance.
According to a letter sent to universities Wednesday, schools that agree to the requirements, such as banning race or sex-based hiring and admissions, freezing tuition for five years, limiting international undergraduates, requiring standardised tests and addressing grade inflation would receive priority access to significant federal funding.
The universities involved are Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, the University of Arizona, Brown University and the University of Virginia, according to an official.
Schools that agree to the compact but later breach its terms may be required to repay federal funds received that year along with any private donations.
The letter said signing the compact would give the federal government “assurance” that the schools are complying with civil rights laws and are “pursuing federal priorities with vigor.”
The deal also prohibits employees from expressing political views on behalf of their institutions unless related to school matters.
May Mailman, senior adviser for special projects at the White House, said the administration will not limit the compact signatories to priority access to federal funding but will also prioritise them for grants and invitations to White House events.
Mailman, spearheading the White House’s efforts to address alleged antisemitism and diversity issues on campuses, said the administration selected schools believed to be led by reform-focused presidents or boards dedicated to raising educational standards.
The deal comes amid the Trump administration’s freezing of billions in federal funds to at least eight leading US universities, including Columbia and Brown universities, with which the administration has signed separate agreements, and Harvard, which is currently contesting the freeze in court.
Trump has threatened to cut federal funding for universities over a range of issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel's war in Gaza, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.
Last month, a federal judge ordered the administration to restore part of the funding cut from the University of California, Los Angeles in July as it faces a $1.2 billion settlement demand from the White House over alleged anti-Semitism on campus.
Trump has alleged the universities harbour "anti-American" values.
