Today, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued an open letter calling for university presidents and governing boards to “reaffirm their commitment to serving the American people” by “prominently” posting statements outlining institutional reforms that “will help restore public trust in higher education” to their websites by Dec. 31, 2026. It is not clear what will happen if universities do not comply.
The letter continues the Trump administration’s continued efforts to reshape what it calls a higher education’s “wokeness.” President Donald Trump’s Compact for Higher Education, initially offered to Dartmouth and eight other universities in October 2025, demanded that schools cap tuition and international enrollment, quell grade inflation and eliminate race and sex from admissions and hiring in exchange for funding benefits. Dartmouth and all universities initially offered rejected the compact.
In today’s letter, which does not include some of the most stifling demands or any of the incentives from the compact, McMahon wrote that trust in American higher education is at an “all time low.” Yale University’s Committee on Trust in Higher Education’s report, issued in April 2026, and an April 2026 report commissioned by the chancellors of Washington University at St. Louis and Vanderbilt University about the politicization of humanities departments reveal “a generational opportunity for self-reflection and institutional renewal,” she added.
“Only full candor and transparency can begin to strengthen the bonds between higher education and the American people,” she wrote.
McMahon provided seven questions that universities should address in their statements: “transparency and merit” in admissions, free speech, academic “pluralism” and intellectual diversity, affordability and return on degrees, academic rigor “in the age of” artificial intelligence, “safeguarding research integrity from malign foreign influence” and “prioritizing American interests.”
College spokesperson Kathryn Kennedy wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth this afternoon that the College “is aware of the letter and is reviewing it.”
Admissions
McMahon wrote that despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that considering race in university admissions is illegal, the “opacity of university admissions has caused allegations of favoritism, unjust outcomes and illegal discrimination.”
Dartmouth “recruits and admits outstanding students from all backgrounds, regardless of their financial means,” according to its “core values,” according to its institutional website. It reinstated the standardized testing requirement for the Class of 2029.
In a July 6, 2023 statement, dean of admissions and financial aid Lee Coffin wrote that the College would “ensure that our policies and practices for evaluating all undergraduate applicants, as well as the decisions we render on them, are aligned with the Court’s ruling before the next selection process begins in November.”
The Department of Education launched an investigation into Geisel School of Medicine’s “alleged racial discrimination” in admissions on July 22. It is among dozens of medical schools to be investigated by the federal government this year for discriminating against white and Asian applicants, including Yale School of Medicine and the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles.
Free speech
McMahon wrote that statements should address how universities will “guarantee that unruly and violent protestors do not harass students or disrupt classes, research, public lectures and campus operations.”
The College expects “academic excellence and encourages independence of thought” and “supports the vigorous and open debate of ideas within a community marked by mutual respect,” according to its values webpage. It is the only Ivy League university to receive a “green light” rating from the free expression organization FIRE because its free expression policy, which was revised in April 2025, allows expression as long as it does not “interfere” with other students’ ability to hear and engage with different viewpoints — for example, shouting down a speaker.
The second Trump administration froze or cut millions of dollars’ worth of federal research funding to peer institutions. It is engaged in an ongoing legal battle with Harvard University after freezing more than $2.6 billion in funding for research grants because Harvard allegedly did not respond promptly enough to antisemitism on its campus.
Academic pluralism
McMahon wrote that “when disciplines skew toward one side of the ideological spectrum, the truth-seeking function of the university suffers and public trust declines,” citing the April 2026 report on intellectual pressure in philosophy, anthropology, sociology, history, literary studies and music studies departments in universities across the country.
Institutions must outline how its hiring and evaluation practices for faculty “ensure that all relevant perspectives are taken seriously,” McMahon demanded.
Affordability
Universities should be transparent about their degrees’ return on investment; The cost of higher education “seems out of reach for many American families” in part due to “ever-rising administrative costs and other expenses unrelated to core university functions,” McMahon wrote.
The College’s tuition increased 5% for the 2025-2026 academic year and 3% in 2026-2027, from $95,490 to $98,427 per year. Dartmouth offers free tuition to students whose families make under $125,000 per year.
Academic rigor
McMahon wrote that statements should address how universities “incentivize rigor in the age of AI, combat grade inflation and prioritize excellence in teaching and learning.” Artificial intelligence has “upended traditional methods of teaching and assessing student learning,” she wrote.
In April, the College founded the Ad Hoc Committee on Grading Practices and Assessment to “identify opportunities to strengthen the clarity, coherence and credibility” in grading and assessment given “evolving technological contexts — including, most pressingly, AI,” according to the committee’s charge.
Other universities took steps to combat grade inflation earlier this year, as McMahon pointed out in the letter. In May, Harvard University faculty voted to cap As at 20% per class beginning in fall 2027.
Research integrity
Given that university-sponsored research can “drive” economic growth and “deliver” medical and military innovation, universities “must ensure that the research enterprise is oriented toward advancing the U.S. national interest — not our adversaries’ — by refusing gifts with problematic conditions and ensuring that foreign actors do not unduly influence academic programming, research personnel, researcher assignments or student admissions,” McMahon wrote.
Prioritizing American interests
McMahon wrote that American taxpayers “invest billions” in higher education, obliging universities to “put Americans first” in return.
“How can your campus and faculty advance American security interests, deliver academic programs that meet urgent workforce needs and contribute materially to the nation’s prosperity?” she asked.
The Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment on the letter or what will happen if universities do not comply by the deadline.
Correction appended (Aug. 3, 6:12 p.m.): A previous version of this article erroneously stated that seven medical schools have been investigated for violating federal law in admissions. It is at least 26 medical schools. This article has been corrected.
Iris WeaverBell ’28 is a reporter and editor. She is from Portland, Ore., and is majoring in economics and minoring in public policy.
