Penn releases letter rejecting Trump compact

The University of Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon released the letter that President J. Larry Jameson sent to the U.S. Department of Education last week, explaining why the school rejected the compact proposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Several other schools, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, and Brown University, already have released their letters rejecting the compact.

“Our university policies and practices are already aligned with many of the core principles of the Compact...” Jameson wrote. But “we find that significant portions of the Compact and its overarching framing would undermine Penn’s ability to advance our mission and the nation’s interests.”

The “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” was the latest attempt by the Trump administration to force changes in the way universities operate as the president tries to reshape higher education to match his vision. It offered colleges that sign preferential consideration for federal funding. It’s still not clear what penalty, if any, Penn — which receives about $1 billion annually in federal funding — will face for not signing.

“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than [those in the compact], if the institution elects to forego federal benefits,” the compact states.

Penn last week declined to release its letter, but Jameson in a message to the campus community Friday afternoon said “in the spirit of transparency” he would share it. He said he’d received many requests for its release.

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The university has not had further discussions with the government since rejecting the compact, Jameson said, noting “we believe there remains opportunity to advance the long-standing relationship between American higher education and the federal government which has greatly benefited our community, nation and world.”

But he also was clear that Penn’s greatest partnership is with the public.

“America’s great universities already have a compact with the American people,” he said. “It is built on the open exchange of ideas, merit-based selection and achievement, and freedom of inquiry to yield knowledge. It affirms that knowledge should serve the public good, that education should remain a ladder of opportunity, and that discovery should make life better, richer, and freer.”

Jameson highlighted seven areas where he said Penn and the compact appear to be in alignment and five areas that pose concerns.

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Areas of agreement include hiring and promotion standards and “merit based admissions” that comply with the law, including the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that banned the use of race-based admission, Jameson said. The university also has reinstituted a standardized test score requirement for admission; Penn like many others had paused the requirement during the pandemic. And, its undergraduate student body is 13% international, Jameson said. That’s under the 15% mark that the compact would require.

Penn also is in compliance with federal foreign gift regulations and has “viewpoint-neutral rules” governing protests and expression, he said.

The university last year adopted an “institutional neutrality” policy, which states that the school will no longer make statements about world events unless they have a direct effect on Penn’s operations; the compact calls for schools to adhere to institutional neutrality.

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While the university hasn’t agreed to freezing tuition for five years as the compact asks, the school has taken steps to make education more affordable, Jameson said, noting that its aid is all grants and no loans and is need based. Nearly half its students receive aid, he said.

And, Jameson said, Penn officials “share concerns about grade inflation and believe there may be an opportunity to engage the higher education community to seek a broader solution.”

But Penn objects to federal funding being meted out based on signing a compact, Jameson said.

“Research and our nation are better served by competition that rewards promise and performance,” he said. “Penn seeks no special consideration beyond fair and merit-based funding.”

The compact fails to promise or even mention academic freedom, which is “the bedrock of our national system of higher education,” Jameson said. It seeks to protect conservative thought alone, he said.

“One-sided conditions conflict with the viewpoint diversity and freedom of expression that are central to how universities contribute to democracy and to society,” Jameson wrote.

He also objected to the compact mandating free tuition to students in the “hard sciences.”

“We celebrate the sciences,” Jameson wrote. “However, we focus our financial aid efforts on those who cannot afford to pay, ensuring that a Penn education is accessible to those who are offered admission.”

Jameson also called out the compact’s financial penalties for failing to comply “based on subjective standards and undefined processes.” That could endanger teaching and research, he said.

“Universities must be accountable for their actions,” he wrote. “We believe that existing laws and policies suffice to achieve compliance and accountability.”

Many groups on campus had spoken out against the compact and were watching closely, given that the university had struck an agreement with the Education Department in July over the participation of a transgender athlete on the women’s swim team.

Penn’s announcement that it would reject the compact brought praise from local and state officials, including Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.