Trump administration sends universities compacts to sign to receive federal funding

The Trump administration sent compacts for universities to sign to receive federal funding, which include them pledging to prohibit any punishment of conservative ideas.

Letters were sent on Wednesday to the University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Virginia, The New York Times reported.

The letters were attached to a 10-page compact that lists the administration’s educational goals. The compact would require colleges to cap the enrollment of international students, freeze tuition for five years, and commit to the traditional definition of gender. Also, universities would be required to change their governance structures to prohibit anything that would “punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

Universities that sign the compact would receive “multiple positive benefits," according to the letter, signed by Education Secretary Linda McMahon; Vince Haley, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; and May Mailman, the White House’s senior adviser for special projects.

Signatories would receive priority access to federal funds and more loose restraints on overhead costs. Signing the compacts would also give assurance to the government that schools are complying with civil rights laws. Federal research funding to universities has been stopped at many institutions due to civil rights investigations.

The universities that received the letters either declined to comment to the Times or didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mailman, who has been an orchestrator for much of the administration’s higher education strategy, said the compact could ultimately be extended to all colleges. She said the administration was open to hearing feedback from college leaders about the compact.

“We hope all universities ultimately are able to have a conversation with us,” Mailman said.

Individual deals have been made between the administration and universities to restore federal funding, requiring them to pay steep fines and effectively adopt new policies.

The compact also includes the requirement to provide free tuition to students studying math, biology, or other “hard sciences” if endowments exceed $2 million per undergraduate.