Universities that want a competitive advantage when seeking government funding for research may soon have to pledge allegiance to Trump policies under a plan being developed by the White House.
The Trump administration is looking to ask universities to affirm that their hiring and admissions decisions, especially those concerning international students, are based on merit and not on racial or ethnic factors, two White House officials told The Washington Post.
“Now it’s time to effect change nationwide, not on a one-off basis,” a senior official told the publication.
Under the plan, which could be rolled out within the next few months, universities would be asked to affirm a list of policies, including that they do not consider race in admissions and are not “importing radicalism on campus.”
A White House official told The Post that all universities would still be eligible for grants “in theory,” but the new system could give them an opportunity to prove their compliance with Trump administration policies and thereby secure a “competitive advantage” in the grant review process.
“I think there will be an opportunity for universities to be forward-looking and… state their positions out loud: What are the things that you believe? What are your values? How are you providing value to students?” one official told the outlet. “And that will be something that not only is important to the administration… but it’ll be super impactful for students too.”
Universities could also be asked to prove that they are giving students a good return on their investment, according to The Post. Asked how that metric would be judged, an official told the newspaper: “Universities have become bastions of bureaucracy and waste, loading students with exorbitant debt all to provide them with a useless degree in a frivolous major. That is not the mark of a great university.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Under the current system, research grants are awarded based on peer reviews and scientific merit. But the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies has upended many longstanding policies in academia.
President Donald Trump has waged war against Harvard and Columbia, among other elite universities, over a wide range of “woke” issues, including DEI initiatives and pro-Palestinian campus protests.
In July, Columbia agreed to pay a $200 million fine to placate Trump and reverse the administration’s cuts to its federal funding. Harvard, meanwhile, has put up a legal fight, but has reportedly begun considering the establishment of a center for conservative scholarship.
The post White House Plots Funding ‘Advantage’ for Loyal Colleges appeared first on The Daily Beast.
