A memo sent out by the Trump administration to nine universities encourages them to put a quota on international students in exchange for opportunities to receive federal grants.
Titled “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” the nine-page document details the demands of the White House and an outlined version asks universities to focus on American students first, limiting international undergrad enrollment to 15% as well as sharing “all known information” about international students to the Department of Homeland Security, according to NBC.
“Signatories pledge to select those foreign students on the basis of demonstrably extraordinary talent, rather than on the basis of financial advantage to the university; to screen out students who demonstrate hostility to the United States, its allies, or its values; and to provide instruction in American civics to all foreign students,” the memo stated.
In exchange for agreeing to the terms, there are “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants” for the universities and invitations for White House events and discussions with officials.
If the Justice Department finds a university in violation, then they would “lose access to the benefits of this agreement.”
Additionally, the memo demanded universities disregard race or sex in hiring and admissions, freeze tuition for five years, require that applicants take a standardized test and transform or abolish “institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”
The letter was sent to the University of Arizona, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas, University of Virginia and Vanderbilt. However, according to Al Jazeera, the administration has not publicly announced the memo or explained the reasoning behind choosing the selected universities.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the news with a post on X, writing that universities in the state would lose funding if they conceded to the terms.
The American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and the American Association of University Professors President Todd Wolfson released a joint statement, condemning the letter.
“The Trump administration’s offer to give preferential treatment to colleges and universities that court government favor stinks of favoritism, patronage, and bribery in exchange for allegiance to a partisan ideological agenda,” the statement wrote. “It is entirely corrupt.”
Of the universities, USC hosts the most international students, making up about 26% of the student body. Both Brown and Dartmouth follow with 14%, MIT has 12%, UPenn has 11%, Vanderbilt has 10%, University of Virginia with 8%, University of Arizona has 3.3% and University of Texas is last with only 2.8%.
USC said it was reviewing the letter and Vanderbilt said that “We look forward to carefully reviewing the compact and providing meaningful feedback to the administration,” according to CBS.
A chairman at the University of Texas System Board of Regents, Kevin Eltife, said it is “honored that our flagship — The University of Texas at Austin — has been named as one of only nine institutions” selected.
“We enthusiastically look forward to engaging with university officials and reviewing the compact immediately,” Eltife said in a statement.
Registration is closed for Common Ground: Building Together conference and gala award banquet in San Francisco on January 24. A shoutout to our planning committee: Jane Chin, Frank Mah, Jeannie Young, Akemi Tamanaha, Nathan Soohoo, Mark Young, Dave Liu, and Yiming Fu.
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