McMahon Asks Every U.S. College to Post a Public Pledge on Seven Administration Priorities Before the Year Ends

Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent an open letter to U.S. college and university presidents and governing boards on Aug. 3, 2026, asking each institution to post a public statement on its website before the end of the year addressing seven topics, among them admissions transparency, free speech and intellectual pluralism, academic rigor, affordability, foreign influence and national service. McMahon wrote that the dilution of academic standards, opaque admissions policies and a domineering monoculture have badly eroded public trust, and that only full candor and transparency can begin to strengthen the bonds between higher education and the American people. The department framed the letter as a National Call to Action.

The request carries no legal mandate, funding condition or stated penalty, but it asks institutions dependent on federal research and student-aid money to publicly align themselves with an administration's priorities.

The letter follows a 2025 compact that offered funding advantages to schools adopting a list of administration policies, including limits on international enrollment and the department's definitions of biological sex. No college signed it and several publicly rejected it. Monday's letter dropped most of those conditions.