The U.S. Government issued a memorandum on October 4, 2025, to nine prominent universities, urging them to adopt President Trump’s educational vision in exchange for enhanced access to federal funds, reports 24brussels.
This initiative, termed the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” spans nine pages and focuses on benefits for universities that align with the administration’s political agenda, diverging from previous punitive measures imposed on institutions such as Columbia and Harvard. The memorandum proposes a series of significant changes, including limiting foreign student enrollment, eliminating demographic considerations in admissions processes, and mandating the adoption of specific definitions of gender for restroom usage, among other stipulations.
The targeted institutions include Vanderbilt University, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas, the University of Arizona, Brown University, and the University of Virginia. It remains unclear why these particular universities were singled out for this memorandum.
The document cautions that noncompliance could lead to removal of benefits for a minimum of one year. In response, the University of Virginia remarked there was insufficient justification for its selection, while leaders of the Texas system expressed pride in being included among the targeted institutions.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Trump’s efforts to compel California universities to sign a “loyalty pledge,” asserting, “California will not bankroll schools that betray their students, professors, and researchers, or surrender academic freedom.”
This memorandum, distributed by the White House as part of Trump’s initiative to reshape higher education, has been criticized as a potential infringement on academic freedom. It represents a significant shift in the relationship between the U.S. government and higher education institutions, with implications for student life and campus culture as government interests take precedence.
