Overview

• MIT, Brown, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia, and Dartmouth publicly refused to sign, with leaders warning the plan undermines merit-based research funding and institutional autonomy.
• The compact ties preferential federal grant access to a 10-point policy slate that includes a five-year tuition freeze, required standardized tests, a 15% cap on international undergraduates, bans on considering race or sex in admissions and hiring, and binary gender rules for facilities and sports.
• Vanderbilt, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Arizona had not announced decisions as of the deadline, as the White House widened outreach beyond the initial nine schools.
• Education Secretary Linda McMahon held a virtual meeting with multiple campuses and described the discussion as positive, and President Trump separately said all U.S. colleges could opt in.
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to cut state funding from any in-state university that signs, and higher education experts questioned the administration’s authority and warned the compact could trigger clawbacks of federal and even private funds.