Massachusetts Institute of Technology Becomes First School to Reject Compact Proposed by the Trump Administration

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was the first school that was offered, yet then rejected the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” proposed by the Trump administration on October 10, 2025. Courtesy of Mys_721tx and Wikimedia Commons.

On October 10, 2025, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected the federal funding proposal made by the Trump Administration. This proposal, also known as the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” required policy changes to different colleges and universities in exchange for funding by the federal government. 

The President of MIT, Sally Kornbluth, released a statement rejecting the proposal in the form of a letter to both the school community and Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon. The letter itself criticized what seemed to be an attack on the autonomy of higher education in the US by the Trump administration, specifically, aspects of freedom of expression and independence in these institutions. “These values and other MIT practices meet or exceed many standards outlined in the document you sent. We freely choose these values because they’re right, and we live by them because they support our mission – work of immense value to the prosperity, competitiveness, health and security of the United States” Kornbluth wrote in the letter. 

The nine schools that received the compact include: MIT, Vanderbilt, University of Southern California, Brown, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas at Austin, University of Virginia, and the University of Arizona. University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Dartmouth have already accepted the proposal, signaling that they are willing to make policy changes in exchange for funding. 

As well as this, University of Texas at Austin Chair of Regents Kevin Etife released a statement, saying that they were grateful to be “selected by the Trump administration for potential funding advantages," Etife wrote. University of Texas at Austin was the first school to respond in a welcoming manner to the proposal, not making them subject of potential investigations in relation to compliance with federal laws.  

The compact itself is made up of ten points for institutions to follow. Key points include but are not limited to: requiring standardized testing scores to be submitted such as the SAT or ACT, defining gender by reproductive functions in the human body, placing a maximum of 15% of students on a visa coming from a foreign country, rejecting any foreign funding, not allowing one’s social status or identity affect their hiring, admission, or financial aid decisions, and dismantling units in courses that may attack conservative ideas, to name a few. 

A core concern in regard to the compact is the fact that it potentially limits free speech by being tied to a political agenda. Kornbluch reflected this point of view in her statement, at one point writing “[This compact] would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution.”

These policies follow the agenda President Trump wants to create for the US education system, shifting how Americans  perceive higher education institutions. “Higher Education has lost its way, and is now corrupting our Youth and Society with WOKE, SOCIALIST, and ANTI-AMERICAN Ideology,” President Trump stated in a Truth Social post. “My Administration is fixing this, and FAST” he added. 

There is continuous suspicion in schools such as MIT that are refusing to look into or engage with Trump’s compact. This suspicion falls under the idea of institutions becoming too left-associating or leaning towards one way or another on the political spectrum. 

“Any university that refuses this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform higher education isn’t serving its students or their parents – they’re bowing to radical, left-wing bureaucrats,” Liz Hutson, a spokeswoman for the White House administration, stated in an email regarding MIT’s decision to reject the proposed funding. 

Colleges and higher education institutions that received the compact proposal have until October 20 to give their ensured response in regards to whether or not they would accept or try to negotiate the compact. 

This idea of an exchange has been seen before, as in February, Columbia University agreed to pay the White House administration $200 million to negotiate policy changes for incoming classes of students at the university, basing their school policies on what the Trump administration wants for the future of education. This came after the Trump administration pulled $400 million in federal funding from the university. Making changes through what the administration wants for future education is a central component of what the White House has continued to focus on throughout President Trump’s second term.