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