Education Department Says Columbia University Fails to Meet Accreditation Standards

The Department of Education had opened an Office for Civil Rights investigation into Columbia University in early February.

Columbia University in New York City on May 10, 2021. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

The Department of Education said on June 4 that Columbia University violated a federal civil rights law and thus failed to meet accreditation standards amid allegations of widespread discrimination against Jewish students on campus.

In a June 4 statement, following an Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigation that was initiated in early February, the department informed Columbia that it had violated Title VI, a federal civil rights law.

“[The OCR] notified Middle States Commission on Higher Education (the Commission) that its member institution, Columbia University, is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore fails to meet the standards for accreditation set by the Commission,” the Education Department stated.

Following widespread pro-Palestinian protests on campus in 2024 after the Hamas terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the department is accusing Columbia of acting “with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in late April that requires accreditors to be notified of any “noncompliance findings relating to member institutions” following investigations conducted by the Education Department’s OCR under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Title VI prohibits any recipients of federal funding from allowing discrimination based on race, skin color, or national origin.

While notifications to accreditors can affect the availability of federal and student loans, Columbia also faces other risks if it loses accreditation. Student degrees may be unrecognized by employers or graduate schools, affecting the university’s esteem as an Ivy League institution.

In its June 4 statement, the Education Department said Columbia fails to meet “Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation” set by its accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Those standards state that “a candidate or accredited institution possesses or demonstrates ... compliance with all applicable government laws and regulations.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the agency will work with the accreditor to ensure “Columbia’s compliance with accreditation standards, including compliance with federal civil rights laws.”

“Just 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,” McMahon said.

On May 22, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) OCR said Columbia had violated Title VI. It accused the university of “acting with deliberate indifference towards student-on-student harassment of Jewish students from October 7, 2023, through the present.”

The agency probed university documents, interviewed witnesses, examined Columbia’s policies and procedures, and reviewed reports from the school’s Task Force on Antisemitism.

“The findings carefully document the hostile environment Jewish students at Columbia University have had to endure for over 19 months, disrupting their education, safety, and well-being,” Anthony Archeval, acting director of the HHS OCR, said in a statement.

“We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.”

In late March, Columbia announced that it would make a series of policy changes after the Trump administration canceled $400 million in grants to the university because of allegations of anti-Semitic discrimination on campus.

However, despite the announced changes, in early May, the school said it would lay off nearly 180 staff members because of the funding revocation.

The agency’s latest move does not revoke Columbia’s accreditation, which would significantly handicap the Ivy League college. However, it is a major escalation in the government’s actions against the school as it works with Columbia’s accreditor to bring it into compliance with federal law.

The Trump administration warned that the “accreditor must take appropriate action” if the university fails to do so.

Aldgra Fredly, Aaron Gifford, and Rudy Blalock contributed to this report.