Republicans subpoena Ivy League presidents over suspected tuition collusion

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, led by Chair Jim Jordan, issued the subpoenas Tuesday with a July 22 deadline for the two schools to make internal documents available

US Republican lawmakers stepped up their scrutiny of America's top universities, subpoenaing the presidents of Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania as part of a broad investigation into whether Ivy League schools have made secret deals to fix tuition prices. The subpoenas are the latest development in a growing battle between excellent schools and the Trump administration, the Financial Times reported.

Committee demands answers on tuition pricing

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, led by Chair Jim Jordan, issued the subpoenas Tuesday with a July 22 deadline for the two schools to make internal documents available. The committee first requested the records in April but says the answers it has received have been inadequate. A subpoena was also delivered to Harvard University last month and requests were sent to Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Princeton, and Yale.

The panel is looking into whether Ivy League universities have conspired on tuition pricing plans while still offering what it calls "perfect price discrimination" — charging every student the maximum they are able to pay, employing formulas for calculating financial aid. Legislators say the model can be disadvantageous to middle-class families and may violate antitrust laws.

Part of a broader political and legal battle

The tuition price tag is just another source of distress elite colleges are already under attack for by the Trump administration. Over the past year, the White House has hinted at cutting federal research funding, lobbied for leadership overhauls in some of the schools, and considered more stringent regulations on accepting international students.

The majority of the pressure originates from condemnation by President Donald Trump and party leaders, who accused Ivy League colleges of failing to stem antisemitism on campus during protests about the Israel-Gaza crisis. The charges led to senior congressional hearings and the resignation of several university officials, including the former presidents of Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Universities insist they are adhering

Brown and Penn both challenged the latest subpoenas by stating they were behind in cooperating with the investigation. Brown's spokesman said the university "has consistently cooperated" with the House committee and has been redacting sensitive student data appropriately as required by federal privacy laws. Penn noted that it had already made available thousands of pages of documents and would continue cooperating with the investigation.

Harvard would not comment on the developments.

Economists reject collusion charge

Some specialists have refuted the accusation of collusion. Phillip Levine, who is professor of economics at Wellesley College and an expert in the investigation of the pricing of higher education, stated that Ivy League schools are not like normal competitors. "It would be an odd type of collusion," he explained. "Well-endowed private schools set low- and middle-income students their lowest rates and provide them with incredibly high-quality educations."

Likelihood of wider consequences

The outcome of the investigation could have far-reaching implications. Legislators did not rule out additional legislative or regulatory actions, and public hearings such as those held after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October of 2023 could be on the horizon. Republicans also linked the inquiry to continued controversies over keeping college affordable and racial considerations in admissions, which a year ago was voted down by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the University of Pennsylvania is also facing separately a civil rights issue regarding the inclusion of a trans athlete in women's sports. The U.S. administration revealed on Tuesday that the university had agreed to do some things to resolve the dispute.

Under mounting pressure, elite universities are navigating a highly charged political climate — one that challenges their models of pricing, their systems of governance, and even the role they play in American society.