How the UNC System Responded to McMahon’s “Call to Action”

Just over two weeks after Education Secretary Linda McMahon called on colleges to outline their plans for reform, the University of North Carolina System responded on behalf of its 17 institutions. 

In an 11-page letter sent Tuesday, UNC System President Peter Hans and Board Chair Kellie Hunt Blue outlined the minimum admissions standards for the system’s universities and touted efforts to keep tuition affordable for in-state students, among other points. McMahon had asked colleges to answer a series of questions about seven topics, including admissions, free speech, prioritizing American interests and academic rigor in the age of AI.

Florida public colleges and universities also responded Tuesday. McMahon asked institutions to publicly post their answers by the end of the year.

Like the Florida institutions, Hans and Blue noted that they’ve been working on the issues addressed in McMahon’s letter for many years.

“Your seven questions are both timely and a reflection of longstanding challenges to the integrity of higher education,” they wrote. “Access, student success, affordability, and efficiency, economic impact, and institutional excellence have been our consistent goals through a turbulent chapter of American higher education.”

Hans and Blue repeatedly pointed to system policies that they have in place as well as how the universities comply with federal and state laws.

“Universities are always a work in progress, and we certainly do not claim to have solved all the many challenges confronting higher education,” they wrote. “Public trust is not built on a single reform or a season of solid results. It is earned through sustained focus and steady performance, through commitment to mission across decades. The UNC System has built a strong foundation, and we welcome the opportunity to expand on our commitment to higher education’s role as a key source of American strength.”