UT students react to President Trump's higher education vision

Trump's vision for higher education system

The White House reached out to several universities this week, asking them to commit to the President Trump's vision for the nation's higher education system. Some of those colleges are in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas - The White House reached out to nine highly ranked universities this week asking them to commit to the White House's vision for American Campuses in exchange for more favorable access to federal funding. 

Trump's higher education vision

That vision is outlined in a 10-page document titled the "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education."

It includes abiding by the Trump Administration's definition of gender identity and applying it to university restrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams. 

It also prohibits demographic factors such as race and gender from being considered during the admissions process and places a 15% cap on the number of international students permitted to enroll.  

By the numbers:

The most recent UT data shows nearly 7,000 international students are studying at the Austin campus, representing 134 countries.  

In 2024, only 5% of the university's admitted class were international students, falling well below the threshold outlined by the compact.  

UT Austin students speak out

Local perspective:

"I think it's kind of crazy, especially considering that right now, I'm coming from a class where I have two international students in," said UT sophomore Alejandro Fernandez. "I feel like that's kind of what makes the university special, you know, all the diverse people." 

Some students said they're concerned that agreeing to the cap would send a message to international students that they're not welcome. 

"This certainly creates a very, very unsafe environment for them, the fact that they're not incentivized to come here," said UT sophomore Daniel Ramirez. 

Others believe a cap would be detrimental to the diversity and prestige of the university.  

"If we stop enrolling international students, that'll decrease the prestige of our university," said UT senior Kate Murphy. "It'll decrease the alumni base as well. So, I think to benefit UT like, 'What starts here changes the world,' they have to let international students in, and they have to refuse to meet the demands of the letter." 

Murphy says, based on her experience during her time on campus, the values of the student body are not aligned with the priorities outlined in the compact. She hopes that's something that the university administration will keep in mind when deciding how to respond. 

"Just upholding what it means to be a Longhorn, which is listening to your student body, allowing the students to make positive change on this campus, and not making decisions that are going to prevent us from improving the place that we love so much," said Murphy. 

What's next:

A representative for the University of Texas declined to comment on any correspondence from President Trump.  

All nine universities have until November 21 to respond. 

Other universities that received the letter include Vanderbilt, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Virginia, and Dartmouth College.