The flava:
Two months after the Department of Education called on colleges and universities to publicly state their commitment to principles the Trump administration accuses them of abandoning, a pair of major state university systems have complied, while many more institutions remain wary.
Even that limited response is vastly different from the uniform rejection from nine leading universities last year of the administration’s previous initiative, the Compact for Academic Excellence. That effort tied compliance to federal research and grant funding.
This time, the U.S. government has not issued an overt threat of consequences. Still, college leaders worry their answers could become grounds for punishment or that not answering could draw its own wrath. They question whether complying risks institutional independence. Complicating the decision: The questions themselves deal with subjects that colleges wrestle with constantly and feel to many like they are already addressing.
The National Call to Action issued by Education Secretary Linda McMahon in August asked colleges and universities to respond publicly by the end of the year. The list of questions probes how institutions are handling admissions transparency, the free exchange of ideas, intellectual pluralism, affordability, academic rigor, foreign influence, and the goal of advancing the nation’s interests. . . .
The article:
