ISTANBUL

The University of Southern California (USC) has formally rejected a controversial education compact proposed by the Trump administration, saying it would erode “values of free inquiry and academic excellence,” making it the fourth university to spurn the deal.

The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, USC interim President Beong-Soo Kim said the university declined the offer, which would have granted priority federal funding to institutions adopting the administration’s conservative vision for higher education.

“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, according to the daily.

The compact calls for universities to adopt a government-defined view of gender, restrict foreign enrollment, impose a tuition freeze, and reinstate mandatory requirements for prospective students to take the SAT or ACT standardized tests – conditions many educators denounced as likely unconstitutional and violating principles of academic freedom.

-Broad university opposition to pact

Faculty opposition to the Trump proposal was decisive, the daily said.

“This shows that when a broad coalition of faculty, students, staff, and workers comes together … we can effect institutional change,” said Sanjay Madhav, associate professor at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering.

White House spokesperson Liz Huston defended the proposal, arguing that “universities funded by American taxpayers should absolutely serve the national interest.”

USC, with a student body of over 20,000, joins MIT, Brown University, and the University of Pennsylvania in rejecting the compact, which has been sharply criticized by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who urged state universities to refuse it.

The Trump administration asked nine universities to sign the pact on Oct. 2.

Since taking office for a second term, Trump has taken a markedly aggressive stance towards universities – including Ivy League schools like Harvard – threatening to withdraw government funding if they do not toe his line on matters such as hiring and rejecting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Kim said USC remains committed to “fostering a vibrant marketplace of ideas” and contributing “values to an important national conversation about the future of higher education.”