U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is pressing college leaders to publish by the end of 2026 a public set of commitments to reforms tied to admissions transparency, free speech and open inquiry, intellectual pluralism, and affordability and student outcomes. In a Monday letter, McMahon asked institutions to post responses prominently on their websites. Department officials described the approach as a step away from last year’s more prescriptive Compact for Academic Excellence, but still framed as a mechanism to hold higher education accountable. The reform push also connects to federal research and grant incentives. Department officials said institutions that demonstrate commitment to “gold-standard science” and merit-based hiring in the sciences could be more likely to be prioritized for future grant conversations, while a pending federal rule would give political appointees final say over grant awards. Higher education governance groups have emphasized that boards and leaders must retain fiduciary independence as policy pressure increases, creating new compliance and communications burdens for presidents and trustees.