After millions of dollars in funding are undetected, the department requires complete disclosure of unusual gifts.
The Education Department is making initial moves to combat foreign economic impact in higher education in the United States, focusing on Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley.
After reviewing the college’s international funding revelations to the Department, the Education Department issued a notice of analysis and records request, according to a press release from the department.
According to the school, it has previously acknowledged having “received a fundamental mistake regarding its Section 117 monitoring duty” and “acknowledged having failed to report millions of dollars in international state money.”
According to the Associated Press, UC Berkeley responded that it “has been cooperating with national inquiries regarding 117 reporting concerns” and may continue to do so.
According to a statement from the office, Education Secretary Linda McMahon has instructed the Office of General Counsel to continue coordinating international surprise and commitment statements under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act.
Colleges receiving federal money are required by the law to record any unusual products or contracts worthwhile$ 250, 000 or more annually. The Office of Federal Student Aid, which primarily handles financial assistance, was appointed during the Biden administration.
The Trump Administration has made clear its priority of Section 117 protection by remitting international funding reporting monitoring obligations to OGC, according to the release.
Additionally, McMahon claimed that the Biden administration “turned [to] blindness ] to colleges and universities ‘ legal duty by allowing foreign gifts to put onto American schools.”
She claimed that the Biden administration early closed some Section 117 studies as compliance issues arose as a result of compliance problems.
According to another department news release, the Education Department announced a similar investigation into Harvard earlier this month” after a review of the school’s foreign studies revealed incomplete and false disclosures.”
Harvard is required to provide a complete list of all communications with foreign governments, including all products, offers, and agreements. Additionally, it needs to provide information on international students who have been expelled since January 2016, along with their research, as well as a checklist of visiting experts, scholars, students, and academic staff members affiliated with foreign governments. This knowledge must be provided to Harvard in 30 days.
The University received more than$ 218 million in international financing in 2022 and 2023, according to a report from The College Fix.
These studies are a part of the Trump administration’s wider effort to restore donor accountability in higher education. According to The Fix, President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year titled” Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities” that strengthens Section 117’s protection.
According to a point sheet that came with the order, American colleges and universities have received$ 60 billion in contracts and products from abroad in recent years. Just about 300 out of the approximately 6,500 U.S. institutions yearly report this type of foreign funding, though.
Additionally, according to a report from the Network Contagion Research Institute, U.S. universities received nearly$ 29 billion in foreign funding between 2021 and 2024, which is nearly twice the amount from the previous four years.
For instance, UC Berkeley was given$ 87. million from China to support a joint enterprise. Berkeley, nevertheless, cut ties with Tsinghua University in China earlier this year.
According to Start the Books spokesman Christopher Neefus, the joint programme with China was a separate legal entity from the institutions themselves, which omitted reporting requirements.
Less: House passes bill to improve transparency regarding how China funds American universities
IMAGE CREDIT AND CAPTION: Gil C/Shutterstock, Harvard University pages through a magnified glass,
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