The U.S. Department of Education announced on Wednesday that it told Columbia University’s accreditor that the school violated federal law over its handling of antisemitism and no longer meets the requisite criteria for accreditation.
The department stated that both it and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that Columbia violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, because the school “acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students.”
The two departments concluded that Columbia “failed to meaningfully protect Jewish students against severe and pervasive harassment on Columbia’s campus and consequently denied these students’ equal access to educational opportunities to which they are entitled under the law.”
The Education Department told the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which accredits more than 500 higher educational institutions and has been recognized by the U.S. education secretary for almost 75 years, that Columbia no longer meets the commission’s accreditation standards.
Linda McMahon, the U.S. education secretary, stated that “after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s 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,” McMahon said. “They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants.”
A Columbia spokesperson told JNS that the school is “aware of the concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights today to our accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and we have addressed those concerns directly with Middle States.”
Columbia is committed to combating antisemitism on its campus, according to the spokesperson, who declined to be named. “We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it,” the spokesperson told JNS.
Ari Shrage, co-founder of the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, told JNS that he hopes federal pressure will encourage the university to make necessary changes.
“It’s unfortunate that the government needs to threaten Columbia’s accreditation in order to protect Jewish students,” he told JNS. “I hope that Columbia comes to a swift agreement to prevent this from happening.”
“We are aware of the press release issued today by the U.S. Department of Education regarding Columbia University and can confirm that we received a letter regarding this matter this afternoon,” Nicole Biever, chief of staff at the commission, told JNS. “We do not have any other comment at this time.”
McMahon stated that “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.”
“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,” she added.