Universities can join Trump’s higher ed compact. Any takers in Indiana?

In his second term, the Trump administration has sought to corral a higher education system it considers to be ideologically liberal and discriminatory. This effort includes recruiting universities and colleges to join a compact promising preferential funding for ideology-focused policy agreements.

IndyStar reached out to 20 Indiana colleges — seven public institutions and 13 private, educating nearly half a million students — asking whether their administration has any interest in joining the compact. They were largely unresponsive or noncommittal to the idea.

When asked if the state would offer any guidance or hold any conversations regarding the compact, Secretary of Education spokesperson Courtney Bearsch said any participation in the compact would be determined by each institution