The Department of Education on Wednesday announced that Columbia University “no longer appears” to meet accreditation standards due to student protests over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, threatening the Ivy League institution’s accreditation status.
President Donald Trump and his administration argue that the protests constitute antisemitism and have been using the issue as ammunition in a culture war against elite institutions of higher education.
The Department of Education does not issue accreditation itself. Rather, it recognizes accrediting agencies, such as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, of which Columbia is a member.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon pressured the Middle States Commission in a statement.
“Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants,” she said.
The Middle States Commission will now have to come up with a plan to address the issues. If Columbia does not cooperate, its accreditation could be revoked.
“We look forward to the Commission keeping the Department fully informed of actions taken to ensure Columbia’s compliance with accreditation standards including compliance with federal civil rights laws,” McMahon said.
The commission confirmed that it received a letter from the Department of Education but declined to comment any further.
A spokesperson for Columbia said the university was aware of the concerns and has addressed them “directly with Middle States.”
“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,” the spokesperson said.
The Education Department’s civil rights office announced last week that it had determined Columbia’s leadership acted with “deliberate indifference toward the harassment of Jewish students, thereby violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” which states that programs receiving federal funds cannot discriminate on the basis of race, color or national origin.
Since retaking office, Trump has been targeting Columbia and other top-tier schools like Harvard for alleged antisemitism as Israel continues to raze the Gaza Strip and starve its inhabitants.
Trump canceled a whopping $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University back in March. While the school capitulated to the president’s demands, it did not result in a restoration of the funding; an additional $250 million in funds from the National Institutes of Health were frozen later.
