Trump’s Higher Education Compact, Spurned by Elite Universities, Finds Takers Among Historically Black Colleges

While elite universities have largely rebuffed President Trump’s Compact for Higher Education, historically black colleges and universities are expressing interest in the initiative.Last month, Oakwood University, a historically Black Christian institution in Alabama, became one of the few schools to volunteer for the compact, which requires participants to commit to certain institutional priorities in exchange for regulatory and funding benefits.“We share the Compact’s vision of student success and institutional accountability, and we embrace its call to ensure that all graduates are equipped to make meaningful contributions to our nation,” Oakwood’s president, Gina Brown, wrote to the Department of Education on November 18.Yet the university, which is affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church, included some caveats. Given the school’s history as a black institution, Ms. Brown sought exemptions from provisions like the ban on considering race in admissions.“While we strongly support the Compact’s overarching goals, several provisions of the draft framework raise important concerns that, if left unaddressed, could unintentionally hinder HBCUs’ ability to participate fully or effectively,” Ms. Brown wrote. “Absent a mission-based exemption, HBCUs would face an untenable choice between compliance and fulfilling their congressionally mandated purpose.”The compact, unveiled in October as part of the administration’s broader push to reshape American universities, invited nine institutions to commit to a list of priorities and receive in return certain benefits, including “substantial and meaningful federal grants.”The wide-ranging provisions were written, according to the administration, in alignment with the “priorities of the U.S. government.” Some requirements reinforce existing policies — maintaining institutional neutrality, upholding civil rights laws, and requiring standardized test scores in applications. Others break new ground: a 15 percent cap on international undergraduate students, mandates to eliminate grade inflation, and a five-year tuition freeze.In exchange, signatory institutions would receive “a competitive advantage” — priority for federal grants, invitations to White House events, and direct access to administration officials. Universities that “forego federal benefits,” the compact notes, “are free to develop models and values other than” those it prescribes.The proposal sparked backlash even from conservative quarters that previously supported the administration’s higher education reforms. None of the original nine universities signed on, and the government eventually opened the compact to any American institution willing to comply.Oakwood is among the few universities that have inquired about joining, and is one of two historically black institutions to do so. The other, St. Augustine University in Raleigh, North Carolina, expressed interest earlier in November.“As one of the nation’s oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with a 158-year legacy of expanding educational opportunity and transforming lives, we support the Compact’s broad goal of strengthening academic excellence, accountability, and transparency across American higher education,” the school’s interim president, Verjanis Peoples, wrote to the Trump administration.Yet she too flagged conflicts with the school’s mission. “The Compact’s current restrictions on the use of race, ethnicity, or related indicators in admissions or financial support — while well intentioned — conflict with Title III of the Higher Education Act and with the explicit purpose of HBCUs to expand access for Black students and historically marginalized communities.”She also noted that the tuition freeze mandate would pose undue challenges to HBCUs given their typically smaller endowments than large state universities or elite private schools. Another hurdle is the 15 percent foreign admissions cap, a provision that clashes with St. Augustine’s “global partnerships across the African diaspora.”Despite the potential obstacles, the school affirmed that it “remains eager to participate as a constructive partner and early-engagement institution.”“We believe that with thoughtful collaboration, the Department and participating institutions can refine the Compact to ensure that its implementation is rigorous, mission-aligned, and inclusive of the Nation’s diverse higher education landscape,” Ms. Peoples wrote.Other schools considering the compact include New College of Florida and Valley Forge Military College. The original nine that either declined outright or refrained from publicly accepting were 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.University leaders consistently cited concerns about academic freedom in their rejections. The University of Arizona president, Suresh Garimella, stated in an open letter that “principles like academic freedom, merit-based research funding and institutional independence are foundational and must be preserved.” He acknowledged, though, that some provisions “deserve thoughtful consideration” and were already in place at Arizona.

Trump’s Higher Education Compact, Spurned by Elite Universities, Finds Takers Among Historically Black Colleges

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