The University of Arizona (UA) and Vanderbilt University became the latest institutions not to sign the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” UA specifically stated that it has not agreed to the compact. Vanderbilt provided an update saying it was looking forward to “continuing the conversation” but that it was only asked to provide input on the compact, not accept or reject it.

UA’s letter to US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon expressed a shared vision to strengthen higher education through merit-based systems. Instead of agreeing to the compact, the university attached the University of Arizona’s Statement of Principles. The statement identifies the following principles: “Student Learning and Fair Admissions,” “Equal Treatment and Nondiscrimination,” “Freedom of Expression and Civil Discourse,” “Financial Responsibility and Affordability,” and “Foreign Engagements, International Enrollment, and Research Security.”

The university’s union released an open letter demanding that the university reject the compact. UA noted that the federal government sought dialogue rather than a written response from the universities.

Vanderbilt emphasized that it was only engaging in dialogue rather than accepting or rejecting the compact. In a letter to the campus community, Vanderbilt updated that it met with the administration about the compact and would provide its feedback through that process. The letter affirmed “that academic freedom, free expression and independence are essential for universities to make their vital and singular contributions to society.” It also stated its belief that research grants should be merit-based.

The compact is a proposal from the Trump administration to nine major US universities to adopt certain policies in exchange for funding advantages. Those policies include not using race, gender, and other characteristics in the admissions process, capping international student enrollment at 15 percent, and “transforming or abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.” The compact also requires schools to define gender according to reproductive function and prevent people who are transgender from using the bathrooms or competing in the sports of their gender identity.

While both universities stated the administration was only seeking feedback on the compact, the administration asked for a decision from them by November 21. UA and Vanderbilt are the latest institutions to publicly update their position on the compact without agreeing to it. In doing so, they join the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia and Dartmouth College.