Trump versus Higher Education: Are colleges taking the bait? President Trump is using a high-stakes "carrot or the stick" approach to force reform. The stick? Civil rights investigations and taxing massive multi-billion-dollar endowments. The carrot? The Compact for Excellence in Higher Education. Signatories receive priority research grants for adopting merit-based admissions, freezing tuition costs, and protecting Title IX women's spaces from men. Only nine major institutions were offered this deal, and none have signed on as of yet. Critics claim Trump is politicizing federal funding. Don't miss AACS Today, Episode 103!