University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign leaders said Monday the school would likely decline to join the kind of compact the Trump administration has proposed for higher education institutions.
Illinois’ flagship university was not one of the nine universities invited to join the compact. During a student and faculty senate meeting, Provost John Coleman recognized a similar request could come from the White House in the future.
He said he and other administrators believe accepting the agreement would run counter to the university’s values.
“The American system of higher education was built on a foundation of academic freedom and the ability to make decisions that we believe locally on our campus are in the best interest of this university and those whom it serves,” Coleman said.
“We are of like minds on the inappropriateness of the proposed compact and that the university would not be involved in a compact of that type with that list of demands.”
In early October, the Trump administration offered to give the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas and other schools special federal funding opportunities if they agreed to a list of demands that includes freezing tuition, limiting international enrollment, banning transgender women’s participation in sports and shutting down departments that belittle conservative ideas — with steep penalties for violating the agreement.
MIT has rejected the compact publicly, while UT leaders said they were eager to review the proposal.
Bloomberg reports the administration is now making the offer to all colleges in the U.S. U of I spokesperson Robin Kaler said the school has not received any letter inviting it to join the compact.
At Monday’s university senate meeting, Coleman said the university does review all invitations from the federal government and others, but he and the U of I chancellor both agree the compact is not “a positive path forward on higher education reform.”
Departments should continue hiring H-1B visa holders, for now
Coleman also told those at the senate that academic department can keep hiring faculty, researchers and specialized administrative staff with H-1B visas — for now.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation in September raising the fee for the visa to $100,000 per person.
Coleman said about 500 people at U of I are on the visa per year. He said the university hires around 100-200 H-1B visa holders a year, with a similar number leaving the university.
“If we determine that the new requirements do indeed apply to us, then we will have to collectively determine how best to proceed with hiring processes, decisions, and costs associated with this new fee,” Coleman said.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said the new requirement does not apply to existing visa holders.
In the proclamation, Trump said companies have exploited the visa process to replace Americans with lower-skilled international workers.
According the American Immigration Council, immigrant workers increase job opportunities for native-born workers, because they tend to fill different specialties and spend money locally.
Politico reports that Trump’s proclamation has energized bipartisan interest in strengthening the H-1B program.
University of Illinois Journalism Professor Charles Ledford contributed to this story.