St. Augustine’s University in North Carolina has become the first Historically Black College and University to express interest in joining President Donald Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. The initiative, which offers preferential federal funding to participating institutions, had previously faced rejections from Ivy League schools and other prominent universities. Despite the initial hesitations, the university’s interim president, Verjanis Peoples, and the school’s board chair, Sophie Gibson, sent a letter to the Trump administration confirming their willingness to participate in the compact.
The letter highlighted the school’s commitment to the compact’s goals of strengthening academic excellence, accountability, and transparency in American higher education. However, it also raised several concerns, particularly regarding the restrictions on the use of race, ethnicity, and other identity-based factors in admissions and financial support decisions. These restrictions, which are part of the compact’s framework, conflict with the mission of HBCUs, which traditionally aim to expand educational access for Black students and historically marginalized communities.
Another significant concern for St. Augustine’s University is the compact’s tuition freeze policy, which prohibits schools from raising tuition for five years after signing. This measure could pose challenges for HBCUs, which often have smaller endowments compared to private and state universities. Additionally, the compact’s restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and caps on foreign student admissions could affect the university’s global partnerships with institutions across the African diaspora, a longstanding tradition for many HBCUs.
Despite these concerns, the university remains eager to engage in a dialogue with the Trump administration to refine the compact’s framework. They seek a collaborative process that allows HBCUs to contribute their expertise, articulate mission-specific constraints, and help shape the final framework in a manner that upholds the compact’s goals without compromising their statutory purpose.
The Trump administration had solicited feedback from nine schools, including both public and private institutions, nationwide. While none of the colleges formally signed the compact, several prominent universities, including MIT, the University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, the University, of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, and the University of Virginia, declined to participate. Vanderbilt University and the University of Texas at Austin remain noncommittal on the proposal.
The potential financial benefits of the compact could significantly impact HBCUs, which have historically relied on federal funding and endowments to support their operations. As the administration moves forward with the initiative, the outcome of discussions with HBCUs like St. Augustine’s University could shape the future of higher education policies in the United States.