On Thursday, USC was one of nine universities in the United States to receive President Donald Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” The compact would reportedly give universities preferential access to federal funding in exchange for implementing policies like limiting international student admissions, freezing tuition and refraining from commenting on political issues, among other demands.

On Friday, interim President Beong-Soo Kim wrote in a community-wide email that he would consult with the Board of Trustees, deans, the Academic Senate, the Academic Freedom Task Force and Faculty Advisory Committee, among others, about the compact in the coming weeks.

Institutions that sign would have to annually affirm they are following the principles laid out, survey their campuses about the school’s adherence to the compact and would be subject to Justice Department review.

The Daily Trojan reviewed the compact to see which parts could apply to USC. The compact did not include a deadline for schools to sign the agreement, however the administration also sent a letter which the Daily Trojan could not review prior to publication.

Admissions

Under the agreement, institutions would have to cap international student enrollment at 15% of the undergraduate student population, with no more than 5% of the undergraduate population coming from any one foreign country. Only incoming classes would be subject to the cap. The compact puts no limit on graduate students.

Roughly 21% of USC’s 2025 class of first-year undergraduate students held a student visa, according to admissions data. The University also reported that over 12% of its combined graduate and undergraduate student body came from China in the 2025-26 year.

Universities that sign the compact would also be required to use standardized tests as a component of admissions decisions. The University adopted a test-optional policy in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tuition and finances

The compact requires universities to freeze tuition for the next five years, but only for American students. In the past five years, USC’s semesterly tuition has increased nearly 24% from $29,630 to $36,630.

Schools with endowments over $2 million per student would also be required to not charge tuition for students pursuing degrees in “hard science programs,” which the compact did not define. 

USC’s estimated endowment per undergraduate student is just over $380,000. The University reported a total endowment of $8 billion in fiscal year 2024, according to its most recent consolidated financial statements, and an undergraduate student population of 21,000 for the 2024-25 academic year. 

Political stances 

Schools that sign the compact would also be required to maintain institutional neutrality, meaning the university, departments nor employees can comment on any political issue unless it applies to university operations.

The University has operated under institutional neutrality since the Fall 2024 semester, when it was announced in a community-wide email signed by Provost Andrew Guzman, Senior Vice President for Health Affairs Steven Shapiro and then President Carol Folt.

Under the compact, schools would also commit to “defining and otherwise interpreting ‘male,’ ‘female,’ ‘woman,’ and ‘man’ according to reproductive function and biological processes.” Currently, students are able to select agender, nonbinary or gender non-conforming, in addition to man or woman, on Experience USC, the school’s virtual engagement hub. 

Other portions of the compact include: promoting ideological diversity on campus; nondiscrimination in hiring; an end to grade inflation or deflation; clear disciplinary standards; and publishing average earnings for graduates.