Nine US universities have been asked to accept a number of demands by the US government in order to gain “preferential access” to federal funds.
The universities were informed on Wednesday that a memo from the government had been sent to them instructing them to reduce foreign enrollment and repress institutions that “belittle” conservative ideas in order to be funded.
The White House has not made the memo public or provided an explanation of why these nine institutions were chosen in particular.
What are the new requirements for universities seeking federal funding, as revealed by this information.
What is stated in the White House memo to US universities?
The 10-point memo has the title “A Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”
According to the terms of the memo’s terms:
- When hiring staff and faculty, universities must make sure that admissions and financial support services take into account race and sex when granting students and providing financial aid.
- GPA and test scores, as well as race, national origin, and sex, must be made publicly available.
- Before being admitted to a university, all applicants must take a standardized test, such as the SAT.
- International students are required to account for only 15% of undergraduate enrollments.
- Universities must maintain a “vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus” without a dominant political ideology.
- They must abolish organizations that “purposefully denigrate, demonize, and even stoke violence against conservative ideas.”
- Universities are required to reduce administrative costs, freeze tuition costs, and publicly share graduate earnings by program for five years.
- Institutions should waive tuition for students enrolled in “hard science” programs if their endowments exceed $2 million per undergraduate student.
Universities who choose not to adhere to the outlined standards may lose federal funding, but those who do will be compensated and rewarded.
Which universities have this memo received?
On Wednesday, the following universities received notice of this agreement:
- Arizona University
- Brown University
- Dartmouth College
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Southern California
- University of Texas
- Virginia University
- Vanderbilt University
What has the response been to these institutions?
The universities have largely stated that they are still reviewing the memo.
Local news outlets in Arizona reported that Arizona University spokesperson Mitch Zak said in a statement: “The university first learned of the compact when we received it on Oct. 1. We are reviewing it carefully.”
The University of Texas system is pleased that its flagship, the University of Texas at Austin, was chosen by the Trump administration as one of only nine institutions in the US for potential funding advantages under its new Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, according to Kevin P. Eltife, the chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents.
Eltife continued, “We enthusiastically look forward to engaging with university officials and immediately reviewing the compact.”
Brown University announced on Thursday that it would set up an ad hoc committee on diversity and inclusion to develop the recommendations as well as a draft action plan to maintain and advance diversity and inclusion on campus over the next ten years.
What responses have people given?
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second-largest teacher’s union in the nation, criticized the demands in a statement released on Thursday.
The Trump administration’s proposal to give colleges and universities with court-appointed patrons favor favoritism, patronage, and bribery in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological agenda, the statement read.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), a group that has opposed White House interference in higher education in the US, joined the AFT in supporting the group.
Todd Wolfson, president of the AAUP, told Reuters: “This seems to be the administration moving toward a carrot approach, but the stick is embedded in the carrot.”
Additionally, concerned professors from the targeted universities have weighed in.
In a statement to the university’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, Kermit Roosevelt, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, stated that “it seems to have a pretty broad theory of what foments political violence.”
Why is the Trump administration currently doing this?
The Trump administration’s most recent attempt to alter the political climate of higher education institutions in the US is represented by the memo.
Trump began retaliating against US university students who had last year participated in marches and camps against Israel’s occupation of Gaza shortly after his inauguration in January.
The administration claimed that these students were “pro-Hamas” and anti-Semitism propagating on campus. Trump also alleged that universities were “illegal and immoral discrimination” through diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Trump signed an executive order on January 29 that mandates that any actions federal agencies take against anti-Semitism on campus within 60 days of the incident.
To all the resident aliens who joined the pro-jihadist protests, Trump was quoted as saying in a fact sheet the day after that: “We put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you. I’ll also immediately revoke all Hamas sympathisers’ student visas on college campuses, which have experienced unprecedented radicalism.
Several students have since been subject to deportation and visa revokes, including Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained and arrested in March. A US immigration judge ordered Khalil, who is married to a US citizen, to be deported to Syria or Algeria on September 12.
In honor of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed alongside her family by Israeli forces in Gaza in January 2024, Columbia University took center stage during the pro-Palestine encampments last year on US campuses.
Trump revoked $ 400 million in federal funding for Columbia in February, citing “a failure to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment.”
Columbia received a letter from the Trump administration outlining the requirements for resuming funding negotiations in March. Within a few days, Columbia responded, accepting the government’s demands.
In April, Trump also frozen Harvard University’s funding.
After months of deliberating about Harvard’s educational policies, Trump announced on September 30 that his administration was close to reaching a deal with Harvard. Trump claimed Harvard will pay about $500 million for an undisclosed reason, without providing any further information about the deal.
With exceptions to religious and medical reasons, the university now requires protesters to present university ID when asked to do so. Additionally, it has employed 36 security personnel who, with the assistance of the New York police, are authorized to arrest students.
Source: Aljazeera
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