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Student Equality in the Higher Education Compact

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Title: Student Equality in the Higher Education Compact
Language: English
Authors: R. Shep Melnick, American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Conservative Education Reform Network (CERN)
Source: American Enterprise Institute. 2025.
Availability: American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 5
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Equal Education, Higher Education, Educational Change, Presidents, Federal Government, Government School Relationship, Government Role, Politics of Education, Educational Finance, College Faculty, College Administration, Student Characteristics, Sex, Gender Identity, Civil Rights Legislation, Federal Legislation, Educational Legislation, Gender Discrimination, Sex Fairness, Administrators, Educational Facilities
Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: Civil Rights Act 1964 Title VI, Title IX Education Amendments 1972
Abstract: The Trump administration's October 2025 Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education sparked an overdue conversation about the relationship between universities and the federal government. The administration identified issues that deserve to be addressed. But its approach provoked serious objections, even from sympathetic observers. That has created an opening for alternatives that are more workable and rooted in legislative authority. To that end, AEI's Conservative Education Reform Network commissioned contributions from several right-of-center higher education thinkers. Each tackles one of the compact's eight priorities, seeking to offer Congress, state lawmakers, and campus leaders a path forward. In this report, R. Shep Melnick takes on student equality. The Trump administration's Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education insists that college faculty and administrators must always treat students "as individuals and not on the basis of their immutable characteristics." It also requires schools to assign students to sex-segregated facilities on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity. Though most of these requirements mirror the administration's interpretation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, schools that sign the compact will be stripped of those laws' procedural protections and subject to draconian financial penalties at the Department of Justice's discretion. State legislatures, courts, and especially universities themselves are better equipped than the federal government, let alone the executive branch, to address this issue.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED677985
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Student Equality in the Higher Education Compact
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  Data: American Enterprise Institute. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Equal+Education%22">Equal Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Change%22">Educational Change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Presidents%22">Presidents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Federal+Government%22">Federal Government</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Government+School+Relationship%22">Government School Relationship</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Government+Role%22">Government Role</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Politics+of+Education%22">Politics of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Finance%22">Educational Finance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Faculty%22">College Faculty</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Administration%22">College Administration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Characteristics%22">Student Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex%22">Sex</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Identity%22">Gender Identity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Civil+Rights+Legislation%22">Civil Rights Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Federal+Legislation%22">Federal Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Legislation%22">Educational Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Discrimination%22">Gender Discrimination</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+Fairness%22">Sex Fairness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Administrators%22">Administrators</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Facilities%22">Educational Facilities</searchLink>
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– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: The Trump administration's October 2025 Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education sparked an overdue conversation about the relationship between universities and the federal government. The administration identified issues that deserve to be addressed. But its approach provoked serious objections, even from sympathetic observers. That has created an opening for alternatives that are more workable and rooted in legislative authority. To that end, AEI's Conservative Education Reform Network commissioned contributions from several right-of-center higher education thinkers. Each tackles one of the compact's eight priorities, seeking to offer Congress, state lawmakers, and campus leaders a path forward. In this report, R. Shep Melnick takes on student equality. The Trump administration's Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education insists that college faculty and administrators must always treat students "as individuals and not on the basis of their immutable characteristics." It also requires schools to assign students to sex-segregated facilities on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity. Though most of these requirements mirror the administration's interpretation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, schools that sign the compact will be stripped of those laws' procedural protections and subject to draconian financial penalties at the Department of Justice's discretion. State legislatures, courts, and especially universities themselves are better equipped than the federal government, let alone the executive branch, to address this issue.
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  Data: 2026
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 5
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      – SubjectFull: Equal Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Higher Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Presidents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Federal Government
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      – SubjectFull: Government School Relationship
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      – SubjectFull: Politics of Education
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Finance
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      – SubjectFull: College Faculty
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      – SubjectFull: College Administration
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      – SubjectFull: Student Characteristics
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      – SubjectFull: Sex
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      – SubjectFull: Gender Identity
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Legislation
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      – SubjectFull: Gender Discrimination
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      – SubjectFull: Sex Fairness
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      – SubjectFull: Administrators
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Facilities
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      – SubjectFull: Civil Rights Act 1964 Title VI
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      – SubjectFull: Title IX Education Amendments 1972
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      – TitleFull: Student Equality in the Higher Education Compact
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