President Trump’s latest higher education reform effort has failed to gain traction, with not a single university publicly signing the administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” by Monday’s deadline.

The compact, unveiled earlier this month as part of the administration’s broader push to reshape American universities, offered nine schools the opportunity to commit to certain institutional priorities in exchange for regulatory and funding benefits. Instead of acceptance, the proposal met a wave of rejections and silence.

By Monday night, seven of the nine universities had outright rejected the compact. The University of Arizona became the latest to decline, joining MIT, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, USC, the University of Virginia, and Dartmouth College. The two remaining universities — the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University — declined to issue definitive responses by the deadline.

University leaders consistently cited concerns about academic freedom in their rejections. The University of Arizona president, Suresh Garimella, stated in an open letter that “principles like academic freedom, merit-based research funding and institutional independence are foundational and must be preserved.” He acknowledged, though, that some provisions “deserve thoughtful consideration” and were already in place at Arizona. 

Vanderbilt’s chancellor said the university would provide feedback to the administration without committing to acceptance or rejection. University of Texas at Austin officials initially stated they were “honored” by the invitation but have yet to offer a definitive response.

The lack of enthusiasm is perhaps unsurprising given that the compact’s wide-ranging provisions divided even previous supporters of the administration’s higher education reform efforts.

Some provisions simply reinforce existing policies — maintaining institutional neutrality, upholding civil rights laws, and requiring standardized test scores in applications. Others break new ground: a 15 percent cap on international undergraduate students, mandates to eliminate grade inflation, and a five-year tuition freeze.

The agreement also demands universities root out anti-conservative bias and adopt definitions of gender based on “reproductive function and biological processes,” among other reforms central to the administration’s vision for higher education.

In exchange, signatory institutions would receive “a competitive advantage” — priority for federal grants, invitations to White House events, and direct access to administration officials. Universities that elect “to forego federal benefits,” the compact notes, “are free to develop models and values other than” those it prescribes.

Despite the promised benefits, higher education experts expressed skepticism about the compact’s legal and constitutional foundations. A fellow at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, which advises universities on academic freedom and free speech, Steve McGuire, told the Sun, “It’s hard for me to see how a university could sign onto this document as it currently stands.” 

The director of education policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, Frederick Hess, offered a similar assessment. Describing the compact as having “admirable ends” but “profoundly problematic means,” he questioned its statutory basis and warned of unprecedented “bureaucratic intrusion.”

Amid the rejections, the administration invited additional universities to join the compact, including Arizona State University, the University of Kansas, and Washington University in St. Louis. The government has since opened the compact to any American university willing to sign on, giving institutions until November 21 to make a final decision.