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USC has rejected the Trump administration\u2019s offer for preference in federal funding in exchange for adopting more conservative policies. The administration\u2019s 10-point memo<\/a>, titled \u201cCompact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,\u201d called for commitments in a number of areas, including standardized testing and foreign student enrollment.<\/p>\n What campus leadership says: In a letter<\/a> to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon, USC interim president Beong-Soo Kim said he \u201crespectfully declines\u201d the offer, adding that \u201ceven though the compact would be voluntary, tying research benefits to it would, over time, undermine the same values of free inquiry and academic excellence that the Compact seeks to promote.\u201d In doing so, USC has aligned itself with at least three other schools that have rejected the same offer<\/a>, including the University of Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University.<\/p>\n Department of Education response: The federal Department of Education said it couldn’t comment while employees were furloughed during the government shutdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why it matters: The move likely won\u2019t help USC\u2019s finances. The school is facing a $200 million budget gap<\/a>. The university says federal funding threats, higher costs and other issues have led to recent cost cutting, including hundreds of layoffs<\/a>. Fundraising also has dropped in recent years, and a major sexual assault scandal<\/a> cost the university more than $1 billion in payouts.<\/p>\n