Here are the colleges rejecting Trump's funding compact

Multiple colleges are rejecting a compact the Trump administration sent to nine universities at the beginning of October that guaranteed funding advantages if the institutions agreed to certain policy changes.  

The 10-point memo, titled the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” gave a variety of sweeping demands from changes in hiring to admissions, altering campus culture and shrinking foreign student enrollment.  

So far, three universities — the University of Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University — have rejected the compact, which says schools must revise “government structures” in the institutions that stifle free speech and crack down on vandalism and disruptions to free speech activities. 

The Trump administration also wants universities to freeze their effective tuition rates for five years, post the earnings of students who graduated with certain majors and expand opportunities for service members. 

Additionally, a university could not have more than a 15 percent foreign student population if they sign the compact, and schools with an endowment higher than $2 billion would not be able to charge tuition for undergraduate students going into hard sciences.  

In exchange for these and other concessions, the universities would get priority in funding decisions. The Trump administration said the compact will be offered to other schools in the future. 

The administration initially offered the compact to nine schools: Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, Brown University and the University of Virginia, a White House official said.   

Here is what the institutions that rejected the compact have said: 

MIT 

MIT on Oct. 10 became the first school to publicly reject the Trump administration’s compact.  

The document “includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon. 

“And fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone,” she added. 

Brown University  

Brown University was the second institution that refused to sign the compact, also citing concerns that it conflicts with the school’s values.  

“I am concerned that the Compact by its nature and by various provisions would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance, critically compromising our ability to fulfill our mission,” President Christina H. Paxson wrote to the federal government on Oct. 15.  

“Additionally, a fundamental part of academic excellence is awarding research funding on the merits of the research being proposed. The cover letter describing the Compact contemplates funding research on criteria other than the soundness and likely impact of research, which would ultimately damage the health and prosperity of Americans,” she added.  

University of Pennsylvania 

President J. Larry Jameson informed the campus community the university rejected the compact after seeking input from students, staff and others. 

“Earlier today, I informed the U.S. Department of Education that Penn respectfully declines to sign the proposed Compact. As requested, we also provided focused feedback highlighting areas of existing alignment as well as substantive concerns,” the president said Oct. 16.  

“At Penn, we are committed to merit-based achievement and accountability. The long-standing partnership between American higher education and the federal government has greatly benefited society and our nation. Shared goals and investment in talent and ideas will turn possibility into progress,” he added.