Deadline for Trump's Compact for Academic Excellence approaching fast, only two universities left undecided
With only days left before the deadline on the Trump administration's offer to universities, two institutions have yet to make a decision.
With the final deadline approaching, only two universities have yet to decide whether they will sign onto the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.
The University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University are the last holdouts among the original group of nine schools offered the compact, a federal initiative that ties special funding opportunities to the protection of free speech, conservative student rights, and women’s spaces on campus.
The deadline to sign the compact is Nov. 21.
UT Austin students recently protested the compact, which they claim would suppress progressive voices and harm LGBTQ+ individuals. One transgender student said the compact would “make the lives of trans people in academia and at large untenable.”
Still, UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife expressed support for the agreement. “We enthusiastically look forward to engaging with university officials and reviewing the compact immediately,” he said, praising the deal’s alignment with state education reforms.
Vanderbilt has also seen backlash.
More than 300 students and faculty protested the compact earlier this month, accusing the Trump administration of promoting fascism. Demonstrators carried signs reading “Reject the Compact” and criticized its proposed limits on international student enrollment.
A student government and faculty senate joint statement condemned the compact, and a petition launched by Vanderbilt Graduate Workers United called it “about control and power,” claiming it would erase “trans, queer and gender non-conforming colleagues.”
Despite the protests, Vanderbilt has continued talks with federal officials. “We believe free expression and constructive debate are essential,” a university spokesperson said, adding that ongoing discussions will “help to inform continued conversation with leaders in government and higher education.”
[RELATED: Valley Forge becomes first college to join Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence]
The compact has drawn mixed reactions nationwide.
Some schools, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, outright rejected it. Others have embraced it for its potential to restore ideological balance and civil liberties on campus.
Supporters say the deal ensures academic environments that are open to all viewpoints, not just progressive ones.
