Kirk Karapazza

I can't imagine what it's like to be the president of a red state public who is under intense pressure from the legislature regarding funding in their state.

And so it's been very, very hard to get everybody onto the same page.

MIT was the first school to reject an offer to join the Trump administration's so-called Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.

But Kornbluth says speaking with one voice across higher ed...

is easier said than done.

And with enrollment declines and financial strain already squeezing the higher ed industry, Kornbluth says college leaders worry that openly standing up to the administration could make a bad situation even worse.

For NPR News, I'm Kurt Karapazza in Boston.