UNC rejects Trump administration’s academic compact
UNC Chapel Hill announced it will not join the Trump administration’s proposed higher-education compact, saying several requirements are unworkable despite the university already following some provisions.
The school joins other institutions in rejecting the initiative, which conditions federal benefits on reforms to admissions, hiring, transparency, and compliance with existing federal laws.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has become the latest school to reject the Trump administration’s proposed compact to give funding preferences to universities that reform their admissions and administrative processes.
The university did not receive an invitation from the Trump administration to sign the compact, but UNC’s chancellor, Lee Roberts, said on Nov. 7 that the school will not join, according to WRAL.
“There are some parts of the compact that we are already doing and there are some parts that would be difficult or impossible,” Roberts stated in a faculty meeting. “There’s no way we can sign the compact as written and we don’t plan to.”
UNC Chapel Hill joins a growing number of schools that have rejected the compact without being directly invited to sign it, including Emory University and Syracuse University. Two schools have agreed to sign the document: New College in Florida and Valley Forge Military College in Pennsylvania.
President Trump announced the compact in October.
“Our Nation’s Great Institutions will once again prioritize Merit and Hard Work before ‘group identity,’ resulting in tremendous new Research and Opportunity to benefit all Americans, and Equality being honored in American Businesses, Courts, and Culture,” he posted to Truth Social.
“To those Universities that continue to illegally discriminate based on Race or Sex, we will continue our current efforts to swiftly and forcefully enforce Federal Law,” the president continued.
“They will agree to follow Federal Law, and protect the Civil Rights of ALL Students, Faculty, and Employees on Campuses,” Trump concluded. “They will stop racist Admission Policies, and put an end to unjust and illegal discrimination in Faculty Hiring.”
The compact itself sets the terms under which universities may continue receiving major federal benefits by committing to strict standards of fairness, transparency, and institutional integrity.
It requires schools to eliminate discriminatory practices in admissions and hiring, uphold open debate and academic freedom, and maintain political neutrality in official capacities.
Under the compact, institutions must agree to ensure grade integrity, treat students as individuals rather than demographic categories, and apply disciplinary rules evenly.
The compact enforces pre-existing federal laws by requiring universities to fully comply with existing anti-money-laundering and foreign-gift disclosure rules.
By signing, institutions agree to implement federally mandated procedures, train personnel, and share necessary information, ensuring campuses meet Department of Justice, Treasury, and Education Department standards already established in law.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of North Carolina for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
