Trump’s 15% cap on foreign students shakes US colleges

• The US limits international undergrad enrollment to 15% in universities.
• Universities must reveal admission data, remove anti-conservative bias.
• Rich colleges must offer free tuition for hard sciences.

The memorandum from the US government, named ‘Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,’ stipulates that a maximum of 15 percent of undergraduates can enroll under the Student Visa Exchange Program and restricts students from any one country to merely 5 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In a surprising action, the Donald Trump administration has issued a stringent ultimatum to nine of the country’s most renowned universities to limit international undergraduate enrollment to 15 percent, or risk losing 'preferential' federal funding. The list of the 9 universities includes, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Pennsylvania, University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, University of Southern California, University of Texas, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University.

Moreover, for institutions that are already surpassing these thresholds, current enrollments must be significantly reduced to adhere to the revised strict quotas, indicating a significant transformation of America’s international academic environment.

As stated in the memo, the Trump administration has instructed universities to make admissions and financial aid choices without taking race or gender into account when selecting students and hiring faculty or staff. Additionally, institutions must publicly release admissions information, including GPA and test scores, organized by race, national origin, and gender.

The report by the Journal states that universities have been directed to proactively remove departments that “intentionally penalize, belittle, or provoke animosity against conservative perspectives.”

An important alteration for international students is the mandate that every potential student must complete a standardized exam, such as the SAT, before acceptance. Additionally, universities are requested to maintain tuition fees for five years, reduce administrative costs, and reveal graduate salaries by program.

At the time of this article's writing, the White House hasn't issued a public comment about the memo, nor clarified the reason these nine universities were selected. A White House official, as reported by Bloomberg, mentioned that these universities were chosen due to their leadership's willingness to engage in the initiative and offer input on the proposal.

Also Read: Australia Urged to Cut $2,000 Student Visa Fee

US Colleges with endowments over $2 million for each undergraduate must eliminate tuition charges for students pursuing 'hard science' fields. Hard science fields denote the natural and physical sciences, encompassing areas such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and geology.

The memo comes during persistent tensions between the Trump administration and universities over accusations of antisemitism and concerns related to diversity policies. Some universities, such as Columbia and Brown, have secured multimillion-dollar deals with the administration, while others, such as Harvard, still disagree.

If a university consents to the compact but subsequently does not adhere to its conditions, it could be obligated to reimburse any federal funds obtained that year, as well as any private contributions.