White House Floats Compact for Preferential Treatment

"The Trump administration has asked nine universities to sign on to a proposed compact, mandating certain changes in exchange for preferential treatment on federal funding. First reported by The Washington Post and confirmed, with additional details, by The Wall Street Journal, the proposal seeks an agreement with nine institutions that are being asked to commit to a 10-point memo referred to as the "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.""

"Another requirement mandates that signatories "deploy their endowments to the public good," such as by not charging tuition to students "pursuing hard science programs (with exceptions, as desired, for families of substantial means)" for universities with more than $2 million per undergraduate student in endowment assets. Universities would also be required to post more details about graduates' earnings and refund tuition to those who drop out in their first semester."

"After leveraging funding freezes and other tactics to pressure colleges to make changes, the compact reflects a different approach from the administration while still geared toward the same goal-remaking higher education in Trump's image. May Mailman, a Trump adviser, hinted at the plan in a New York Times interview a week before the proposal emerged, saying it could be a way for universities to affirm they are "doing the right things.""

The Trump administration has asked nine universities to sign a proposed 10-point compact called the "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education." The compact would require deploying endowments to the public good, including not charging tuition to students pursuing hard science programs at institutions with more than $2 million per undergraduate student in endowment assets, with exceptions for families of substantial means. Signatories would also need to post more detailed graduate earnings data and refund tuition to students who drop out during their first semester. The approach shifts from punitive funding freezes to offering preferential federal funding as an incentive. Invited institutions include Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas.

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