AAUW Opposes Trump’s Higher-Ed Compact — Stand with Students, Not Political Litmus Tests

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump Administration has invited all U.S. colleges and universities to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which would offer preferential federal funding if institutions adopt sweeping policy changes. These changes include dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion, restricting campus governance and speech, holding tuition flat for five years, and capping international student enrollment (no more than 15% of undergraduates overall and no more than 5% from any single country). MIT and Brown University have already rejected the compact, and higher-education leaders warn it threatens academic freedom and institutional independence. 

Gloria L. Blackwell, CEO of AAUW (the American Association of University Women) responds to this threat on higher education:  

“This compact is a political litmus test — dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion, muzzle campuses, and cap international enrollment. AAUW says no. Conditioning federal funds on abandoning these values, restricting campus speech, overriding institutional governance, and even limiting how many international students a campus may enroll is coercive, discriminatory, and inconsistent with the core purposes of higher education.

America’s colleges should never be forced to choose between their values and their viability. We urge every institution to refuse this political litmus test and stand with students — especially women, students of color, student-parents, international scholars, and LGBTQ+ students, — whose success depends on campuses that are inclusive, evidence-driven, and free to teach and learn.”

###

AAUW (American Association of University Women) is the nation’s leading organization for equity in higher education and women’s economic empowerment.  

Founded in 1881 by women who defied society’s conventions by earning college degrees, AAUW has since worked to increase women’s access, opportunity, and equity in higher education through research, advocacy, and philanthropy of over $146 million, supporting thousands of women scholars. Learn more at aauw.org.