Newsom warns CA universities federal compact could cost Cal Grants

California Governor Gavin Newsom warned Thursday that any state university that signs a Trump administration compact offering preferential federal funding in exchange for sweeping policy changes will lose state support, including Cal Grants. The administration sent letters on Wednesday to nine universities, including the University of Southern California, proposing the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education and outlining conditions and incentives tied to federal grants and other benefits.

The proposed compact would attach federal advantages to a set of institutional commitments. According to the documents circulated to colleges, the requirements include limits on undergraduate international enrollment, a tuition freeze for five years, reinstatement or expansion of standardized test requirements for admissions, prohibitions on considering race or sex in hiring or admissions, and institutional neutrality rules restricting employees from speaking on behalf of the university. Other provisions would direct how gender is to be defined in certain policies, seek measures to address alleged grade inflation, and set thresholds related to endowment size and tuition for...