The University of Pennsylvania rejected President Donald Trump’s offer of preferential funding on Thursday. The announcement was made in an email to the campus community.

Penn President Larry Jameson wrote “Earlier today, I informed the U.S. Department of Education that Penn respectfully declines to sign the proposed Compact. As requested, we also provided focused feedback highlighting areas of existing alignment as well as substantive concerns.

“At Penn, we are committed to merit-based achievement and accountability. The long-standing partnership between American higher education and the federal government has greatly benefited society and our nation. Shared goals and investment in talent and ideas will turn possibility into progress,” he added.

The Trump administration had asked nine universities, including Penn, to sign on to a proposed compact, mandating certain changes in exchange for preferential treatment on federal funding.

Among the various conditions, institutions are reportedly being asked to:

• Ban consideration of race or sex in hiring and admissions processes
• Freeze tuition for a five-year period
• Limit international undergraduate enrollment to 15 percent of the student body
• Commit to institutional neutrality
• Require applicants to take standardized tests, such as the SAT or ACT
• Clamp down on grade inflation
• Ensure a “vibrant marketplace of ideas on campus”
• Restrict employees from expressing political views on behalf of the institution
• Shut down departments that “punish, belittle” or “spark violence against conservative ideas”
• Anonymously poll students and employees on compact compliance and publish the results

Another requirement mandated that signatories “deploy their endowments to the public good,” such as by not charging tuition to students “pursuing hard science programs (with exceptions, as desired, for families of substantial means)” for universities with more than $2 million per undergraduate student in endowment assets. Universities would also be required to post more details about graduates’ earnings and refund tuition to those who drop out in their first semester.

Jameson had previously announced that the University was “reviewing” the compact and would seek input from deans, the Faculty Senate, and the University Board of Trustees, before making a final decision.

Institutions reportedly invited to join are: Brown University, Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University.

While it is unclear how the federal government landed on the nine schools as candidates for the proposal, one official told The Wall Street Journal the Trump administration believed they would be “good actors.” But contextual clues offer insights into why some may have been picked.

Of the nine, only five presidents, including Jameson, signed on to a letter published earlier this year by higher education organizations pushing back on government overreach and political interference, which ultimately gathered 662 signatures.

Penn joins Brown and MIT in rejecting the proposal.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro voiced his support for Penn’s decision.

It is worth noting that Wharton School Board of Advisors Chair Marc Rowan was the chief architect of the compact which built upon his reform ideas for the University that he shared with Penn’s trustees in December 2023.