Two institutions agree to sign the Compact for Academic Excellence and its sex-definition clause
- Date
- Actor
- New College of Florida; Valley Forge Military College; White House / U.S. Department of Education
- Agency
- Department of Education (ED)
- Type
- Institutional compliance
Summary
The administration circulated the "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" to nine universities on October 1, 2025, offering preferential consideration for federal funding in exchange for policy commitments including a pledge to define and interpret "male," "female," "woman," and "man" "according to reproductive function and biological process." All nine original recipients declined or did not sign. Valley Forge Military College and New College of Florida — neither an original invitee — publicly stated they would sign, making them the only institutions to embrace the sex-definition clause as written.
Status
The original compact stalled; reporting in January 2026 indicated a revised version was being drafted. The two signaling institutions remained the only affirmative respondents identified.
As recorded in the data of . Check the sources for anything newer.
Sources
- pen.org/trumps-compact-for-higher-education-faq(opens another site)
- theconversation.com/trump-offered-a-restrictive-deal-to-universities-that-almos…(opens another site)
- campusreform.org/article/new-college-ready-sign-trumps-higher-ed-compact/28977(opens another site)
- chronicle.com/article/compact-live-updates-more-colleges-weigh-responses-as-dea…(opens another site)
- insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2026/01/22/times-new-version-trumps-higher-…(opens another site)