The Department of Education on Monday notified universities that they will be required to disclose foreign funding to the agency, as is required by law.
Higher education institutions will be required to use a new foreign funding reporting portal, set to launch on Jan. 2, to disclose foreign source gifts and contracts with a value of $250,000 or more, The Daily Signal first reported.
“The Trump administration is launching a new state-of-the-art system for colleges and universities to more efficiently and securely report their foreign gifts and contracts as required under the law,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told The Daily Signal. “After years of neglect by the Biden administration, the new portal will assist our institutions of higher education in fulfilling their statutory responsibilities and enable us to protect our national security by facilitating improved compliance.”
The move is in line with Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires colleges and universities to biannually disclose foreign source gifts and contracts to the Department of Education.
Institutions that don’t comply could face Department of Justice enforcement, including civil actions compelling compliance and recouping the full cost of enforcement.
“America’s taxpayer funded colleges and universities have both a moral and legal obligation to be fully transparent with the U.S. government and the American people about their foreign financial relationships,” McMahon said. “We are grateful to the many stakeholders for their feedback in designing this portal and look forward to vigorously protecting our educational institutions from potentially harmful foreign influence.”
