Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 20: Secretary of Education Linda McMahon (L) speaks during a White House press briefing with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (R) on November 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. McMahon addressed questions related to a recent initiative by the Trump administration to largely dismantle the Department of Education, moving many of its operations to other U.S. government agencies. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued a letter to the nation’s university presidents and governing boards on Monday calling for them to reaffirm higher education’s commitment to “academic excellence, pathbreaking research, and national service.”
In her letter, McMahon called on “every postsecondary institution to publish, by the end of 2026, a clear public statement outlining its commitment to implementing reforms that will help restore public trust in higher education.” The Department of Education (DOE) explained that many institutions of higher learning have “drifted from these principles,” resulting in erosion of confidence in higher education.
"Education Secretary Linda McMahon is sending a letter Monday to the leaders of US universities asking them to commit to a slate of campus reforms by the end of 2026 in the Trump administration’s latest effort to overhaul higher education." bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
McMahon praised the historical significance of universities to the nation and explained that they “helped to forge the political leaders, institutions, and public culture that made this country the greatest in the world.” However, she said that universities have now strayed from what made them so pivotal in the nation’s history:
“For centuries, American colleges and universities were a source of immense national pride: they excited in students a love of beauty and truth; they advanced science and opened opportunities in a growing national economy; they powered the modern research enterprise that secures our sovereignty and military might; and they served as indispensable repositories of our civilizational inheritance. Yet, as higher education has drifted from the principles that built up so much public esteem, Americans’ trust in universities has reached record lows.”
She explained that representatives of Yale University, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University pointed out the politicization of their own institutions recently and how this was a “generational opportunity for self-reflection and institutional renewal.” She encouraged leadership at universities to use this opportunity to drive essential reforms.
In her call for universities to release public statements outlining their commitment to implementing these reforms, she provided a list of questions for these universities to answer in their statements. The following questions were then provided.
· How will your institution ensure that admissions criteria are transparent and wholly described to prospective applicants? And how will your institution ensure admissions decisions are based on merit, achievement, and your university’s educational purpose?
· How will your institution protect the free exchange of ideas, wide-ranging debate, and openminded campus discourse? And how will you guarantee that unruly and violent protestors do not harass students or disrupt classes, research, public lectures, and campus operations?
· How will your institution encourage intellectual pluralism in all its academic units? How will your faculty hiring and evaluation practices support academic vitality and ensure that all relevant perspectives are taken seriously? And how will your school ensure the research enterprise is dedicated to advancing knowledge, deepening understanding, and serving the American people who fund it?
· How will your institution ensure that families can access affordable, high-return, degrees? What can your school do to contain costs, improve pricing transparency, and ensure that every academic program equips students to repay their loans?
· How will your institution incentivize rigor in the age of AI, combat grade inflation, and prioritize excellence in teaching and learning?
· How will your school protect academic programs from foreign influence and safeguard the integrity of the research enterprise?
· How will your institution answer this national call to action? How can your campus and faculty advance American security interests, deliver academic programs that meet urgent workforce needs, and contribute materially to the Nation’s prosperity?
McMahon stated that this “conversation with the American people is long overdue” and is the “essential first step toward rebuilding trust in the sector.” She then emphasized how bold reform can transform higher education going into the future.
Public trust in higher education is at a breaking point. It’s time for university leaders to step up.
"Education Secretary Linda McMahon is sending a letter Monday to the leaders of US universities asking them to commit to a slate of campus reforms by the end of 2026 in the Trump administration’s latest effort to overhaul higher education." bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
“Bold university reformers will bring excellence and accountability to American higher education,” she said. “A renewed academy, in turn, will usher in a new era of opportunity, prosperity, and American leadership.”
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