(NewsNation) — Harvard University’s higher education accreditation has been called into threat following a notification from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
On Wednesday, a statement said the departments had notified the New England Commission of Higher Education of Harvard’s violation of federal antidiscrimination laws, specifically Title VI.
The departments deem that there is “strong evidence to suggest” Harvard is no longer meeting the requisite standard for accreditation.
“By allowing antisemitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked on its campus, Harvard University has failed in its obligation to students, educators, and American taxpayers,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said.
Attacks on federal officers surge 700% as Trump vows investigation
“The Department of Education expects the New England Commission of Higher Education to enforce its policies and practices, and to keep the Department fully informed of its efforts to ensure that Harvard is in compliance with federal law and accreditor standards.”
Human Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that when any institution “abandons its mission and fails to protect its students, it forfeits the legitimacy that accreditation is designed to uphold.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration told Harvard University that an investigation had concluded the school was in “violent violation” of a civil rights law over its failure to protect Jewish students.
The nation’s oldest university must “immediately” reform or risk losing all federal funding, according to a new letter sent to the school and viewed by NewsNation.
Since April, the government has moved to freeze nearly $3 billion in federal funding to Harvard and is threatening to cut all of it if the college fails to act.
NewsNation’s Tanya Noury contributed to this report.
