AAC&U Statement on the Trump Administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”
Washington, DC, Oct. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In April, leaders of America’s colleges, universities, and scholarly societies called for constructive engagement with government in response to unprecedented overreach and political interference in higher education—expressing openness to constructive reform and acceptance of legitimate government oversight, while also affirming the core principles, shared values, and established legal framework on which the American system of higher education rests.
Regrettably, the administration has continued to seek ways to impose its own ideologically driven vision for higher education through unilateral executive action and the coercive use of public funding. On October 1, it invited a first cohort of university leaders to sign a “compact” that would commit their institutions to the vigorous pursuit of the administration’s priorities. The compact is, in effect, an ultimatum: sign and receive “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants,” or retain the freedom to “develop models and values other than those” of the administration, and “forgo federal funding.”
This is not constructive engagement.
Well-established legal and administrative processes for exercising oversight and developing policy are far more effective than executive fiat in promoting reform and strengthening higher education. Leaders across American higher education welcome the opportunity to engage with the administration’s concerns and consider its proposals for reform. Yet, as stewards of America’s system of higher education, college and university presidents cannot bargain with the essential freedom of colleges and universities to determine, on academic grounds, whom to admit and what is taught, how, and by whom. They cannot trade academic freedom for federal funding—and should not be asked to do so. They cannot abandon the American model of self-governance, which guarantees meaningful roles for faculty, administration, and governing boards in academic and institutional decision-making. Principles of academic freedom and self-governance, as long recognized by American policymakers and the Supreme Court, are essential for the public good provided by higher education through its research and teaching.
The stakes could not be higher. The American system of higher education is the envy of the world, renowned for its cutting-edge research, culture of innovation, and commitment to academic freedom. It prepares students not only for professional success, but also for responsible citizenship and lifelong learning, while attracting top talent from around the globe. Its combination of rigorous scholarship, diverse perspectives, and institutional autonomy has made it a model for excellence internationally and a driver of social, scientific, and economic progress.
America’s colleges and universities are open to change and have always welcomed constructive reform. Indeed, their historic partnership with government has been a key driver of innovation and improvement. In renewing the call for constructive engagement, AAC&U also strongly opposes any alternative that would erode or eviscerate essential freedoms and promote instability by making America’s colleges and universities subject not to the law and the principles that have served us so well for centuries, but to the changing priorities of successive administrations.
About AAC&U
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. Through our programs and events, publications and research, public advocacy, and campus-based projects, AAC&U serves as a catalyst and facilitator for innovations that improve educational quality and equity and that support the success of all students. In addition to accredited public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and state higher education systems and agencies throughout the United States, our membership includes degree-granting higher education institutions around the world as well as other organizations and individuals. To learn more, visit www.aacu.org.
David Tritelli American Association of Colleges and Universities (202) 888-0811 tritelli@aacu.org
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