Dive Brief:
- Two federal agencies on Wednesday notified Harvard University's accreditor of “strong evidence to suggest" the Ivy League institution no longer meets its accreditation standards.
- In a letter to the New England Commission of Higher Education, the U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services cited recent HHS findings alleging that Harvard is in “violent violation” of federal antidiscrimination law and has been “deliberately indifferent” to the harassment of Jewish and Israeli students on its campus.
- The announcement comes the week after Columbia University got word from its accreditor that its approval “may be in jeopardy” following similar findings by HHS against the New York institution.
Dive Insight:
A wide-ranging April executive order from President Donald Trump directed U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to "promptly" provide accreditation agencies with any findings of noncompliance with Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in federally funded programs.
On Wednesday, McMahon did so for Harvard's accreditor, NECHE.
“By allowing antisemitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked on its campus, Harvard University has failed in its obligation to students, educators, and American taxpayers," she said in a statement.
The Education Department expects NECHE to "enforce its policies and practices" and keep the agency "fully informed of its efforts to ensure that Harvard is in compliance with federal law and accreditor standards," McMahon added.
Without accreditation, Harvard would lose eligibility to accept federal financial aid — a crucial revenue source for all colleges, even the wealthiest ones.
After HHS accused the university of violating Title VI last week, NECHE released a FAQ addressing its next steps.
The commission made clear that the federal government cannot direct it to revoke a college’s accreditation. Likewise, a college does not automatically lose its accreditation if it is put under investigation, the FAQ said.
NECHE gives institutions "up to four years to come into compliance when found by the Commission to be out of compliance, which can be extended for good cause," it said, adding that institutions remain accredited during that time.
Under NECHE policies, the commission will conduct an independent review of the allegations against Harvard.
Meanwhile, HHS' findings heavily cited an April report from Harvard on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias on its campus. The internal report found that Jewish, Israeli and Zionist students and employees at the university felt shunned or harassed at times during the 2023-24 academic year.
Since the report published in April, the Trump administration has repeatedly used it in attempts to cut off Harvard from enrolling international students and terminate more of its federal funding.
Harvard also released a second report in tandem that addressed anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias on campus, finding that Harvard students and employees in these demographics also said they experienced harassment and discrimination during the same time frame.
However, the Trump administration has not highlighted the findings from the second report in its news releases about Harvard's alleged failure to protect students from harassment. And the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has thus far stayed silent on issues of Islamophobia under Title VI.
