Universities Push Back Against White House's Higher Education Plan

The White House recently invited nine universities to be the first to sign a new higher education compact. This compact is part of a broader effort to align universities with the administration's political priorities. In exchange for signing, universities would get better access to research funding. However, the response has been less than enthusiastic. So far, no university has agreed to sign the compact. The University of Virginia recently became the fifth to decline, citing concerns about the integrity of research and public confidence in higher education. Other universities, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, and the University of Pennsylvania, have also turned down the offer. They worry that the compact would limit free speech and campus independence. The compact asks universities to make several commitments. These include eliminating race and sex from admissions decisions, accepting a strict binary definition of gender, promoting conservative views on campus, and maintaining "institutional neutrality" on current events. In return, universities would get favorable access to federal funding. But many see this as a way for the government to control what happens on campuses. Students and faculty members have also expressed concerns. At Vanderbilt University, some students worry that signing the compact could lead to more government interference in research. They fear that the terms could change over time, giving the government even more control. The pushback against the compact has been strong. More than 30 higher education organizations have urged the administration to withdraw the compact. They argue that it would give the government too much control over colleges' academics and hinder free speech. Even some state governments have threatened to cut funding to any university that signs on. The White House sees the compact as a way to shape policy at U. S. campuses. They believe it will help bring about a "Golden Age of Academic Excellence in Higher Education. " However, many see it as an attempt to control what happens on campuses and limit free speech. The debate over the compact is far from over, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.