The Education Department announced on Wednesday that Columbia University was in violation of federal antidiscrimination law, which puts it at risk of losing federal student loans and Pell Grants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The federal agency said it was notifying the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, a college accreditation group that determines which schools can receive student loans, of the Title VI violation, arguing the failure means the organization should strip Columbia of its 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<\/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<\/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 Losing accreditation would be the biggest hit any university could take from the Trump administration. It means a school would no longer be eligible for federal student loans or Pell Grants, making an institution inaccessible to most of the country. \u00a0<\/p>\n The commission said it has received a letter from the department about the matter but has no comment at this time.<\/p>\n The finding that Columbia violated Title VI comes after the university capitulated<\/a> to many of the Trump administration’s demands, such as revising its disciplinary and protesting policies. \u00a0<\/p>\n The university has also lost hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, as President Trump has seen Columbia as one of the worst offenders in alleged inaction to combat antisemitism. \u00a0<\/p>\n