Columbia University failed to meet accreditation standards due to its inability to uphold civil rights law and punish harassment against Jewish students, the Department of Education announced Wednesday.
Office of Civil Rights (OCR) officials have notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the body that sets Columbia’s accreditation standards, that the university is “in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore fails to meet standards.” Administrators’ unwillingness to address months of anti-Israel activism on Columbia’s campus created an unsafe environment for Jewish students, the department added, putting the university in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The news comes weeks after the Trump administration found 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.”
“After Hamas’ October 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,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. “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. 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.”
Columbia must either comply with federal law or risk losing accreditation status.
OCR began its investigation into Columbia in February. The Trump administration has given Columbia lists of demands and recommendations on how to combat the campus’s rampant antisemitism problem, some of which Columbia has resisted. The administration has cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to Columbia as a result.
Anti-Israel protests began on Columbia’s campus directly after Hamas’s October 7 attack. The campus labeled the situation a “crisis,” even switching to remote classes for a time, after students began solidarity encampments that turned disruptive and violent. Jewish students were told by religious leaders to leave school over security concerns.
Though eventually broken up by law enforcement, student encampments kept popping back up. Students illegally occupied campus buildings and were charged on multiple counts including burglary, trespass, and criminal mischief.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reviewing the visa status of some anti-Israel protesters involved in the demonstrations.
“Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation,” he said last month.