Interim University President Paul Mahoney received a letter from the U.S. Secretary of Education Oct. 1 asking that the University review and sign a compact detailing eight operating principles in exchange for preferential access to federal funding. By signing the Compact, the letter said that the University will signal to community members that learning and quality are priorities and will strengthen the relationship between the U.S. Government and the University.
The University has until Oct. 20 to provide the government with feedback and until Nov. 21 to sign the Compact. The University has created a working group to generate a response, and both the faculty and Virginia Senate have expressed their opposition to signing the Compact.
Some of the University's policies would need to be adjusted to fit the government’s priorities, while others are already aligned with the compact’s objectives. Here is an overview of some of the University’s relevant existing policies under each point of the Compact.
Equality in Admissions
According to the Compact, demographic identifiers including sex, race, ethnicity, nationality, political views and gender may not be used when universities make admissions and financial aid decisions. Instead, decisions should be made according to “objective criteria” posted publicly for all applicants to view, and institutions should require standardized test scores and report anonymized data including GPA and test scores of admitted and rejected students.
“Treating certain groups as categorically incapable of performing — and therefore in need of preferential treatment — perpetuates a dangerous badge of inferiority, destroys confidence and does nothing to identify or solve the most pressing challenges for aspiring young people,” the Compact reads.
In accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to ban affirmative action in 2023, the University does not use race as a factor in admissions decisions. According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, application readers do not have access to information regarding an applicant’s race, ethnicity or family ties to the University.
The University first implemented a test-optional policy for the Fall 2021 admissions cycle and will be test optional through the Fall 2026 admissions cycle. According to the Office of Undergraduate Admission, applicant readers will not give advantage to applications with submitted test scores. GPA and test scores of admitted and rejected students are not publicized by the University, although information breaking down undergraduate admission rates by gender, race and residency is available. Average SAT score ranges for admitted students is also typically available online.
Marketplace of Ideas and Civil Discourse
The Compact asks that the University maintains a “vibrant marketplace” of ideas and differing viewpoints with no ideology dominant over others. To achieve a diverse marketplace, universities must revise structures that “belittle” or “spark violence” against conservative ideas. The Compact also said universities must promise to curtail disruptive demonstrations and limited access to parts of campus based on students’ race, ethnicity, nationality or religion. Signatories must also prohibit calls for violence and enforce restrictions with respect to free speech.
According to the Faculty Handbook for the 2025-26 academic year, the University adopts the policy that its professors are entitled to full freedom in research and in classroom discussions so long as controversial material is not introduced without reason. However, in their “special position” as educators, professors should exercise restraint to ensure they are reflecting well upon the institution.
With regards to protests and demonstrations, the University respects and encourages expressive activity, although it has set guardrails for the times, places and manners these events may be carried out.
There are no areas on Grounds that are limited to certain students based on demographics like race. However, some housing options are targeted for specific student populations, including the International Residential College — 30 percent of student residents are international students. The University also offers spaces in which it encourages students of a particular demographic to gather, including places like the Multicultural Student Center and the LGBTQ Center.
Nondiscrimination in Faculty and Administrative Hiring
The Compact requires that signatories hire faculty and administrative employees without taking into consideration factors like sex, race, religion and ethnicity. The University currently adheres to a nondiscrimination policy to ensure hiring decisions are based on merit, according to the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights.
“All persons are considered … based on merit in relation to the knowledge, skills and experience necessary,” the Office’s policy reads. “The University does not discriminate based on [demographic identifiers].”
Institutional Neutrality
By asking for institutional neutrality, the Compact requires that University employees, in their capacity as representatives of the University, refrain from public speech or action relating to societal and political events. Such a policy may only be circumvented when events have direct impact upon a university.
“All university members, including students, faculty, and staff, are encouraged to comment on current events in their individual capacities, provided they do not purport to do so on behalf of the university or any of its subdivisions,” the Compact reads.
In September 2024, the University’s Board of Visitors unanimously adopted a policy which recommends that the University refrain from commenting on social and political issues unless they directly pertain to the University’s operations.
Similar to the University’s policies in relation to the “Marketplace of Ideas and Civil Discourse” Compact point, professors are currently entitled to facilitate classroom discussions so long as all topics contribute meaningfully to their teaching, and the University asks faculty to remain conscious of how their words reflect upon the University.
Student Learning
The Compact said that students’ grades must accurately reflect the “quality, breadth and depth” of the students’ achievements. Additionally, universities should be held accountable by requiring grade distributions be publicly posted alongside data from previous years and to compare with peer institutions.
The University grades on an A-F scale and has published data on the average GPA of undergraduate students since the Spring 2010 semester, broken down by gender, school or year. The data demonstrates that the average GPA has increased from 3.20 for men and 3.27 for women in 2010 to 3.58 for men and 3.62 for women in 2025. The national average falls around 3.15 according to 2020 data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Student Equality
Signatories must adopt policies that interpret “male,” “female,” “woman” and “man” according to reproductive function and biological processes. Besides characteristics that determine single-sex spaces and separation when needed to ensure fair competition, such as in sports, other characteristics like race should not allow for unequal treatment.
The University maintains a policy of gender inclusion — the policy asserts a commitment to an environment that is free from discrimination based on gender identity and expression. While the University does not have a specific policy for transgender athletes, according to the LGBTQ Center page, changing one’s gender marker may have additional implications due to the NCAA player eligibility rules. Students considering changing their gender marker should seek assistance through the Department of Sports Medicine.
Financial Responsibility
The Compact requires that signatories prevent “life-altering” debt that rising college tuition costs can inflict for students, demonstrate transparency and expand professional opportunities for the country’s military service members and veterans. Universities should also eliminate programs that fail to provide students with a return on their investment and use their endowments for the “public good” — universities with endowments over $2 million per undergraduate student should not charge tuition for students pursuing hard science programs.
The University’s endowment is roughly $14 billion, averaging out to more than $800,000 per undergraduate student. As such, the University would not be required to offer free tuition for hard science studies.
The University’s tuition increased by about 3 percent for the 2025-26 academic year and by 35 percent over the past 10 years. Still, the University does cover the cost of tuition for in-state families making under $100,000 per year, and the full cost of tuition, fees, room and board for Virginia families making under $50,000. U.S. News and World Report also ranked the University #2 in the nation for “Best Value.”
The University publishes data from its graduates that includes salary distributions by major, the percentage of working and unemployed graduates, employment breakdown by industry, students pursuing graduate degrees and more. Various federal and state educational benefits apply to the University’s active-duty service members and veterans.
Foreign Entanglements
Universities that sign the compact must comply with anti-money laundering laws and all foreign funding must be disclosed. It also requires federal permission for foreign student visas to ensure selected foreign students will be supportive of “American and Western values.” A university’s undergraduate population can have no more than 15 percent of students by participants in the Student Visa Exchange Program.
According to the Office of Undergraduate Admission, about 5 percent of entering classes to the University are foreign national students. The University is currently required to disclose foreign funding exceeding $250,000 to the Department of Education according to Section 117 of the Higher Education Act.
In short, although many of the University’s practices — including policies relating to nondiscriminatory admissions and hiring decisions, published GPA data, spaces open for all students and free speech for faculty — already align to the Compact’s priorities, many University policies do not. A tuition freeze for the next five years, federal permission to admit international students and the adoption of clear gender definitions would be just a few of the many changes the University would need to implement upon signing the Compact.
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