MIT rejects Trump administration's proposed higher education compact

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Friday rejected a Trump administration proposal related to its higher education agenda.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Education, MIT President Sally Kornbluth wrote: "With respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education."

"The document also includes principles with which we disagree, including those that would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution," she added.

Kornbluth argued that the premise of the document is fundamentally inconsistent with the school's core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.

The Department of Education has recently sent MIT and eight other universities a proposed "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education," requiring them to make changes to their grading systems, international student enrollment policies and other practices in exchange for preferential access to federal grants and benefits.