BROWNSVILLE, Texas—The planned fence along the U.S.-Mexican border will no longer threaten to cut off a large chunk of a South Texas university, according to an agreement that the school and the federal government presented to a judge Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who had ordered the University of Texas at Brownsville and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to work on a compromise, accepted the deal in principle and ordered both sides to submit it in writing by Tuesday. Later Thursday Hanen also set March trial dates for 16 other border fence cases.

Under the university’s agreement, the government will not condemn any university land and will not build a fence on campus. In exchange, the school will enhance an existing fence that is in disrepair so that it will stand 10 feet tall next to the levee that runs north of the campus golf course. The university will also invest in additional cameras and allow the Border Patrol to install its cameras and sensors on the fence.

It is a far cry from the 15- to 18-foot steel fence originally proposed that could have disrupted the university’s access to its golf course, threatened plans for expansion and harmed the school’s binational reputation and mission. The University of Texas System agreed to pay for improving the university’s fence.

The university on June 30 accused the government of violating an earlier court-approved agreement to study alternatives, and Hanen ordered both sides to find a solution that would meet the Border Patrol’s security needs without disrupting the school.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Hu told Hanen that if the terms of the agreement are followed, the government would drop its right-of-entry case against the university.