Overview
- The University of Arizona declined the proposal on Monday, becoming the seventh of the nine initially targeted schools to reject it, with Vanderbilt and the University of Texas at Austin yet to announce decisions.
- No university has agreed to sign the compact, which conditions preferential access to federal research grants on adopting a 10-point plan reshaping admissions, hiring, campus speech, tuition and international enrollment.
- Provisions include banning consideration of race, sex and religion in admissions and hiring, capping international undergraduates at 15%, freezing tuition for five years, requiring standardized tests and imposing stricter protest-management rules.
- The Education Department held a virtual meeting Friday with undecided schools and newly invited institutions, including Arizona State University, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Kansas, with Secretary Linda McMahon calling the discussion positive.
- Higher-education groups and legal experts argue the compact is unconstitutional and exceeds executive authority, and California Governor Gavin Newsom warned he would withdraw state funding from any signatory, as the administration cites DOJ enforcement and potential repayment of advanced funds for violations.