The Trump administration pulled the most devastating lever against Columbia University on Wednesday when it announced it was targeting the school\u2019s accreditation. \u00a0<\/p>\n
A typically mundane aspect of higher education but with the ability to destroy a university, the college accreditation process gives a school the ability to qualify for federal student loans and Pell Grants. \u00a0<\/p>\n
And the Education Department showed it would be using<\/a> that avenue to its advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n The federal agency announced Columbia was in violation of Title VI federal antidiscrimination laws, zeroing in on the university\u2019s alleged inaction on antisemitism. \u00a0<\/p>\n The department said it would be informing the Middle States Commission on Higher Education,\u00a0the college accreditation group responsible for Columbia\u2019s status, of the violation and argues it’s the organization\u2019s duty to take away Columbia\u2019s accreditation status.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter Hamas\u2019 October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University\u2019s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus. This is not only immoral, but also unlawful. Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid,\u201d Education Secretary Linda McMahon said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJust as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal antidiscrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards,\u201d McMahon said.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWe look forward to the Commission keeping the Department fully informed of actions taken to ensure Columbia\u2019s compliance with accreditation standards including compliance with federal civil rights laws.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The commission told The Hill it has received a letter from the Education Department regarding this matter but did not have further comment. \u00a0<\/p>\n Columbia said it is “aware of the concerns” the Education Department brought to its accreditor “and we have addressed those concerns directly with Middle States.”<\/p>\n “Columbia is deeply committed to combating antisemitism on our campus. We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it,” a spokesperson for the university added.<\/p>\n With a price tag of more than $71,000 per year for tuition and fees (not including room and board), losing access to federal student loans and Pell Grants would make Columbia inaccessible to most of the country. \u00a0<\/p>\n The university’s website says it awards $225 million each year in scholarships and grants and that 24 percent of first-year students receive Pell Grants.<\/p>\n For a university to pass an accreditation process, it must meet numerous federal standards and have all aspects of its institution evaluated by an approved accreditor, from class selections to its admissions processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n President Trump, after calling the accreditation process his \u201csecret weapon\u201d on the campaign trail, signed an executive order<\/a> in April looking to revamp college accreditation, accusing the organizations of \u201cideological overreach.\u201d<\/p>\n The executive order aims to allow colleges to switch accreditors more easily and create more competition in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n The attack on Columbia\u2019s accreditation is the biggest escalation in Trump\u2019s war with higher education, but it’s an unsurprising one to those who have been watching the administration scale up its actions against the nation\u2019s most prestigious institutions. \u00a0<\/p>\n Columbia students\u2019 leadership in the pro-Palestinian encampments that roiled college campuses across the country in spring 2024 put a target on the university in the eyes of Trump, Republicans and some pro-Israeli lawmakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Soon after Trump took office, the administration pulled $400 million in federal grants<\/a> from Columbia. It demanded the Ivy League school make numerous changes to disciplinary and other policies to even begin talks of resuming the federal funding.<\/p>\n Within two weeks, Columbia met the administration’s demands<\/a> and went forward in negotiations with the Trump administration, but it only saw more attacks and pulled funding.<\/p>\nWhat action did Education Department take?<\/h2>\n
How does this affect Columbia’s financial aid?<\/h2>\n
What does university accreditation mean?<\/h2>\n
What has Trump said about accreditation?<\/h2>\n
Trump’s actions against Columbia so far<\/h2>\n