Saint Augustine’s University, a struggling HBCU in North Carolina, told the Education Department it is willing to “participate in and help shape” the Trump administration’s proposed higher-education compact—while explicitly requesting mission-sensitive accommodations. Interim president Verjanis Peoples and board chair Sophie Gibson flagged concerns about provisions restricting the use of race in admissions and caps on international students, warning such terms could undermine HBCU missions and viability. Separately, several public universities have been slow to respond to records requests about the compact; University of Texas at Austin is actively resisting disclosure, according to reporting. Many institutions remain wary of a bargain that exchanges policy changes—tuition freezes, viewpoint audits and operational constraints—for preferential grant consideration. The compact debate is forcing boards and presidents to weigh short-term financial incentives against institutional missions and legal risk; expect more formal responses and targeted negotiations from MSIs and public systems.