President Donald Trump's "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" proposes stipulations to stop racial discrimination and tuition hikes.
In return, the Trump administration would give schools preferential treatment, including "substantial and meaningful federal grants."
Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, says this proposal is the kind of thing that can be expected from the Trump administration, which is known for its fights with Columbia, Harvard, and others over antisemitism and race-based admissions.
She calls the concept "a positive step."
"This is an attempt to say, 'If you take the following steps to create a little bit more meritocracy and equality in higher education, you'll be in line for some level of preferential treatment,'" Allen summarizes.
The compact aims to bring common sense to tuition prices that Allen says have become "exorbitant," "expanding rapidly for the last 30 to 40 years at a rate that exceeds inflation."
"It dovetails with federal spending," she notes. "So, as federal spending gets under control, [President Trump] is asking these nine institutions to keep it in check, and I think that's important."
The idea is to ultimately signal to parents, professors, and taxpayers the importance of safeguarding higher education subsidies.
"Time and time again, studies show how disillusioned students and parents are with higher education," says Allen. "They don't think they're getting their bang for their buck. You could buy a small house for the amount that a four-year education costs, and there's no guarantee you're going to get a job when you get out."
"Making it rigorous and relevant again is an exceptionally good idea and one that I hope succeeds," she adds.
Other points in the agreement include capping international undergraduate enrollment at 15%, requiring students to present SAT scores for admission, tackling grade inflation, committing to institutional neutrality, hiring independent auditors to investigate the universities' adherence to the agreement, and shutting down departments that "purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas."
Failure to adhere to the agreed-upon rules after signing the contract could result in universities being forced to return some of the grant money it received.
Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Vanderbilt University, the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Texas at Austin (UT), the University of Virginia (UVA), and the University of Arizona were all sent contracts last week.
They reportedly represent only the first round that will be invited to sign the agreement and were specifically selected because the administration believes they are "good actors" who are open to change.
The universities are not required to sign the agreement and will not be punished for declining; they will, however, forfeit the proposed benefits, and Allen expects a mixed-bag response from them.
