USC Declines Participation in Federal Education Compact

The University of Southern California (USC) has declined to participate in the Trump administration's proposed education compact, which offers priority access to federal research funding for universities aligning with specific policy directives. Interim President Beong-Soo Kim conveyed this decision in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, expressing concerns that the compact could undermine values of free inquiry and academic excellence.

"We are concerned that even though the Compact would be voluntary, tying research benefits to it would, over time, undermine the same values of free inquiry and academic excellence that the Compact seeks to promote," Kim wrote.

The compact, introduced earlier this month, requires universities to commit to policies such as defining gender based on biological sex, restricting foreign student enrollment, and implementing a five-year tuition freeze for U.S. students. Institutions agreeing to these terms would receive favorable access to federal research grants and additional funding.

USC's decision follows similar rejections by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University. California Governor Gavin Newsom had urged USC to reject the offer, threatening to withhold state funding from any California university that agreed to the compact.

"To foster such an environment at USC, we have committed ourselves to institutional neutrality and launched a number of initiatives designed to promote civil discourse across the ideological spectrum," Kim stated.

The compact has sparked debate within the higher education community, with critics arguing that it imposes political agendas on academic institutions and threatens their autonomy. Supporters contend that it promotes merit-based policies and addresses concerns about ideological bias in academia.

As the October 20 deadline approaches, other invited institutions, including the University of Virginia and the University of Texas at Austin, are reviewing the compact and have yet to announce their decisions.