By Jessica Priest and Nicholas Gutteridge, The Texas Tribune.

The Trump administration has asked the University of Texas at Austin to agree to a “set of operating principles” — which reportedly include adopting a stricter definition of gender, a five-year tuition freeze and a cap on international student enrollment — in exchange for preferential access to federal funding, the University of Texas System confirmed on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that the Trump administration sent a letter to UT-Austin and eight other universities asking them to join a “compact” that would qualify them for the benefit. The schools would also have to ban the use of race and sex considerations in admissions and hiring, cap enrollment of international undergraduate students at 15%, and require applicants to take the SAT or a similar test. The Texas Tribune has not reviewed the Trump administration’s letter.

In a statement to the Tribune, UT System Board of Regents Chair Kevin Eltife said the system was honored UT-Austin was selected to be part of the Trump administration’s proposal.

“We enthusiastically look forward to engaging with university officials and reviewing the compact immediately,” he said. “Higher education has been at a crossroads in recent years, and we have worked very closely with Governor Abbott, Lt. Gov. Patrick and Speaker Burrows to implement sweeping changes for the benefit of our students and to strengthen our institutions to best serve the people of Texas.”

Faculty leaders, however, voiced alarm. Pauline Strong, who heads the UT-Austin chapter of the American Association of University Professors, urged Eltife and University President Jim Davis to reject the deal.

“It trades autonomy for subservience, academic freedom for censorship, gender science and history for ideology, and the best interests of UT students and faculty for the favor of an administration intent on destroying our university,” Strong said in a statement to the Tribune. “The requirements laid out in this letter will be the beginning rather than the end of the Trump administration’s demands of our institution. Chairman Eltife and President Davis, we implore you to take a stand for Longhorn pride and academic excellence. Do not participate in a race to the bottom for once-proud institutions of higher education. Just say no!”

The Trump administration’s offer to give universities preferential access to federal funds in exchange for changes to their definitions and handling of gender comes after a viral video of a Texas A&M student confronting a children’s literature professor over a discussion on gender identity sparked a firestorm in Texas higher education last month.

Last week, Texas Tech University System Chancellor Tedd Mitchell directed faculty to comply with a federal executive order, a letter from Gov. Greg Abbott and House Bill 229 — all of which recognize only two sexes, male and female — when teaching. Faculty and LGBTQ+ advocates have said they fear the directive will limit classroom discussion of transgender and nonbinary identities. No federal or state law explicitly bars teaching topics like gender identity or the existence of more than two sexes.

Soon after, the UT System told the Tribune it was reviewing “gender identity” courses across all campuses “to ensure compliance and alignment with applicable law and state and federal guidance, and to make sure any courses that are taught on UT campuses are aligned with the direction and priority of the Board of Regents.” Other university systems have also said they are reviewing their courses.

As of fall 2024, UT-Austin reported that about 5% of its undergraduate student population were international students. The flagship university also reinstated the standardized testing requirement for admissions last year. A tuition freeze at Texas universities has been in place since 2023 and was extended by Gov. Greg Abbott until the 2027-28 academic year.

Senior White House adviser May Mailman told the Wall Street Journal that schools that sign the compact will be given priority for grants when possible as well as invitations to White House events and discussions with officials. Alongside UT-Austin, the Trump administration reached out to Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Arizona and the University of Virginia.

Mailman told the Wall Street Journal that those nine universities were selected because the Trump administration believed they would be “good actors.”

“They have a president who is a reformer or a board that has really indicated they are committed to a higher quality education,” Mailman told the newspaper.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.