WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is encouraging leaders at nine universities to sign a compact committing their schools to adopt President Donald Trump’s policy agenda for higher education in exchange for preferential access to federal funds.

Administrators at nine prominent universities, both private and public institutions, received an Oct. 1 letter from the White House urging them to sign an expansive 10-page “compact for excellence in higher education.”

The effort marks an escalation of Trump’s battle to reshape college and universities, which Republicans have long criticized as overwhelmingly liberal. Critics, including the nation’s leading lobbying group for college presidents, slammed the compact as government overreach into academia.

The 10-point agreement obtained by USA Today, would commit participating schools to cap international undergraduate enrollment at 15% of the student body, freeze tuition over the next five years; and require applicants to take the SAT, ACT or other similar entry exams.

Universities would be required to adopt a policy protecting “academic freedom” of all viewpoints in the classroom and abolish “institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

The compact also demands that schools exclude race, sex and ethnicity as factors in admissions; adopt “institutional neutrality” restricting professors and other employees to express political views in debates affecting the schools; use strict definitions of men and women for sports and bathroom facilities; and require “conditions of civility” prohibiting demonstrations that disrupt the campus or target other students.

The compact first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was sent to leaders of Vanderbilt University, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, the University of Texas, the University of Arizona and the University of Virginia.

Universities that agree to the compact would receive a competitive advantage for federal education funds, a White House official told USA Today, including receiving priority for grants when possible as well as invitations to certain White House events and discussions with officials.

The official said federal funding won’t be limited to schools that signed the compact.

Higher ed lobby and Newsom respond

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents about 1,600 presidents of college and universities, criticized the compact as an affront on academic independence. “Any effort to reward or punish institutions based on their adherence to the views of government officials should trouble all Americans,” Mitchell said in a statement.

“Defining what constitutes a vigorous and open-ended intellectual environment is not the role of the federal government, and the implications for free speech and academic freedom are chilling,” said Mitchell, who served as under secretary of education in the Obama administration.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned in a post on X that California universities that “bend to the will of Donald Trump and sign this insane ‘compact’ will lose billions in state funding — IMMEDIATELY.” The University of Southern California is the only California school that received the letter from the White House.

“California will not bankroll schools that sign away academic freedom,” Newsom said.

The compact comes after Trump has previously threatened to withhold federal funding on sues such as pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The letter accompanying the compact, according to the New York Times, was signed by Education Sec. Linda McMahon; White House Domestic Policy Council Director; and May Mailman, the White House’s senior adviser for special projects, who has been a driving force in the Trump administration’s agenda on higher education.

Playing a facilitating role was Marc Rowan, CEO of the private equity giant Apollo Global Management, who assembled conservative scholars, academics and policymakers in 2024 to produce a document on overhauling higher education. It later evolved into the White House’s college compact, according to sources familiar with the effort.

In 2023, Rowan was among major University of Pennsylvania benefactors who led a pressure campaign against then-President Elizabeth Magill before she resigned over allegations of antisemitism on campus.

The Trump administration has launched probes into multiple prestigious colleges over pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The government has reached settlements to resolve probes with Columbia and Brown universities, which both accepted demands from the Trump administration. Columbia agreed to pay more than $220 million to the government and Brown said it will pay $50 million to support local workforce development.

Trump said this week his administration was close to a deal with Harvard University that would include a $500 million payment by the university.

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