6 universities reject White House funding deal with attached demands. Multiple other schools have yet to respond [View all]
Source: CNN US
Updated Oct 18, 2025, 12:57 PM ET
PUBLISHED Oct 16, 2025, 4:00 AM ET
The battle for academic freedom and institutional sovereignty in higher education continues to play out as another university has rejected a White House offer for expanded access to federal funding in return for agreeing to a series of demands.
After a meeting at the White House Friday, the University of Virginia declined an offer by the Trump administration to join a compact that would potentially give preferential funding in exchange for a list of changes to school policy, including no longer considering sex and ethnicity in admissions and capping international enrollment. The letter was sent to nine universities at the beginning of the month, and a total of five schools have rejected the offer so far.
The compact is aimed at “the proactive improvement of higher education for the betterment of the country,” according to a letter sent to the universities. USC, Penn, Brown University, Dartmouth College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have all also rejected the proposal. Other schools – a mix of public and private universities – have either said they are reviewing the compact or haven’t commented publicly.
Before UVA announced it was declining the offer, Trump officials on Friday convened representatives from the school and several other universities – including three additional schools that have now been asked to sign on to the compact, a White House official said. The White House cast Friday’s conversation as “productive” and said it is now up to the schools to decide. CNN has reached out to the remaining schools for comment.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/us/trump-universities-compact-funding
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