(MENAFN) The debate over academic independence and university governance in the United States has deepened as another institution turned down a White House proposal linking increased federal funding to new policy requirements.

Dartmouth College became the sixth university to reject the offer, joining the University of Virginia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California. Dartmouth’s decision came on Saturday, marking another setback for the administration’s effort to secure academic institutions’ participation in its new federal education initiative.

In a statement, Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock emphasized that the college’s guiding principles must come from within its own mission. "I do not believe that a compact—with any administration—is the right approach to achieve academic excellence, as it would compromise our academic freedom, our ability to govern ourselves, and the principle that federal research funds should be awarded to the best, most promising ideas," she said.

The proposal—known as the “Compact for Academic Excellence”—was distributed to nine universities as part of the government’s plan to introduce stricter standards for campus management and research performance.

According to officials, the agreement would grant signatory institutions priority access to federal grants and White House-sponsored programs, while also obligating them to adhere to the administration’s academic and ethical guidelines. White House adviser May Mailman confirmed that the compact was intended to “strengthen accountability and reward innovation” within higher education.

However, universities that fail to comply with the terms could be forced to repay federal funds received during the same fiscal year, officials said.

Meanwhile, several institutions—including Harvard University and Columbia University—are already contesting federal funding freezes imposed under related agreements, signaling continued resistance within the higher education sector to what many view as federal overreach into university autonomy.

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