President Trump’s departments of Education and Health and Human Services urged the New England Commission of Higher Education to examine whether Harvard no longer meets its standards for accreditation, now that the Trump administration has determined that the university tolerated antisemitism.
Accreditors work on behalf of the federal government to decide which colleges can accept federal financial aid. Without an accreditor’s seal of approval, Harvard could no longer accept students’ federal grants or loans. The Trump administration made a similar move against Columbia University to its accreditor.
The Trump administration has accused Harvard of failing to protect Jewish students and threatened to take away all federal funding and research grants.
Harvard released its own reports earlier this year and apologized for both anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim behaviors on campus.
Harvard released a statement, saying in part, “Harvard not only shared its comprehensive and retrospective Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias Report but also outlined the ways that it has strengthened policies, disciplined those who violate them, encouraged civil discourse, and promoted open, respectful dialogue. Harvard is far from indifferent on this issue and strongly disagrees with the government’s findings.”
Another front the Trump administration is ratcheting up is its battle to get Harvard to turn over details on student visas. The Department of Homeland Security sent subpoenas Wednesday morning for the information.
The Trump administration says Harvard refused its request for those documents.
The university says “Harvard is committed to following the law, and while the government’s subpoenas are unwarranted, the university will continue to cooperate with lawful requests and obligations.”
Harvard also says it will continue to defend itself against harmful government overreach.
The school has filed lawsuits to fight federal funding cuts. The next hearing in federal court in Boston is later this month.
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