Overview

• The White House sent a 10-page Compact for Academic Excellence to nine elite universities, offering preferential access to federal grants in return for adopting policies on admissions, hiring, gender definitions, standardized testing, tuition freezes, grade inflation and international enrollment caps.
• USC faculty leaders overwhelmingly denounced the proposal during an Academic Senate meeting, calling it unconstitutional and incompatible with academic freedom, as interim President Beong-Soo Kim said the university will gather input before any decision.
• The University of Virginia formed a working group to study the document, with a Board of Visitors representative saying some provisions would be difficult for the school to adopt and inviting community feedback.
• Penn’s president said the university will evaluate the proposal against its values and mission, seek broad internal input and pursue no special consideration tied to the offer.
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned he would cut state funding, including Cal Grants, from any California university that signs, while the University of Texas system signaled enthusiasm to engage with the compact.