Washington – The five universities that were still weighing President Donald Trump's higher-education compact were asked to join a White House call on Friday to discuss the proposed deal, according to two people familiar with the matter. By late Friday afternoon, one of the schools - the University of Virginia - had already declined to sign the agreement.

The people who shared details of the call spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

The White House has faced a flurry of rejections after inviting nine universities to become“initial signatories” of the compact, which asks colleges to make commitments aligned with Trump's political priorities in exchange for favourable access to research funding. The White House asked university leaders to provide initial feedback on the compact by October 20, yet as the deadline approaches, none have signed on to the document.

Those that have not yet announced a decision are Dartmouth College, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas and Vanderbilt University. They did not immediately respond to questions about Friday's call.

The University of Virginia on Friday became the fifth university to decline to participate in Trump's compact. Providing federal money based on anything but merit would undermine the integrity of research and further erode public confidence in higher education, the university's interim president said in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon and White House officials.

“We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education,” Paul Mahoney wrote.

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