Donald Trump’s battle with Harvard University has threatened the school’s deep pockets, with one of the president’s latest moves cutting off its woke foundations at the root.
For months, President Trump has been in a standoff with Harvard over student visas, foreign money, and anti-Semitism. While protests, occupations, and even intimidation of Jews have already led to the loss of certification for the institution, the school’s dedication to diversity and equity means it is now fighting off a dual-pronged attack.
On Wednesday, the Department of Education under Secretary Linda McMahon dropped a bomb on Harvard that could spell huge trouble.
‘When an institution … abandons its mission … it forfeits the legitimacy that accreditation is designed to uphold.’
The tough-to-swallow pill was handed to Harvard through the New England Commission of Higher Education, which was notified by the Trump administration that Harvard is in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws and therefore “may fail to meet the standards for accreditation set by the Commission.”
The Dept. of Education said in a press release that Harvard must adhere to “non-discriminatory policies and practices” in its recruitment, admissions, and employment, among other activities. The Office for Civil Rights additionally found that Harvard is in violation of federal civil rights laws, which could also result in a loss of accreditation for the school.
Referred to as a “death sentence,” a loss of accreditation could have a multitude of devastating outcomes for any school. According to Accredited Schools Online, loss of accreditation results in the loss of federal financial aid, an inability for students to transfer credits, and degrees no longer being recognized by employers or graduate schools.
Students are advised to leave schools that could soon lose their status to ensure their financial aid does not stop and their credits do not go to waste.
That is not all Harvard — and other schools like Columbia that have been similarly warned — have to worry about. An executive order from Trump in April is using a top-down approach to end wokeness in university degree programs.
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The executive order, titled “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education,” directly addresses associations that act as accreditors for the most important fields.
Specifically, the president targeted the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, as well as the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
The legal council is the sole federally recognized accreditor and has required law schools to “demonstrate by concrete action a commitment to diversity and inclusion,” including by “commit[ting] to having a student body [and faculty] that is diverse with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity.”
The medical committee, which is the only federally recognized body that accredits doctor of medicine degree programs, requires schools to engage in “ongoing, systematic, and focused recruitment and retention activities, to achieve mission-appropriate diversity outcomes among its students.”
Trump’s executive order looks to cut the snake off at the head by ending these requirements from accreditors.
RELATED: Why Trump’s war with Harvard hits closer to home than you think
The Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Photographer: Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Regarding the moves, Secretary McMahon said the accrediting bodies play a significant role in preserving academic integrity.
“Harvard University has failed in its obligation to students, educators, and American taxpayers. 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.”
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. bluntly warned that schools that fail to properly educate their students risk losing their legitimacy.
“When an institution — no matter how prestigious — abandons its mission and fails to protect its students, it forfeits the legitimacy that accreditation is designed to uphold,” he said.
Kennedy added, “HHS and the Department of Education will actively hold Harvard accountable through sustained oversight until it restores public trust and ensures a campus free of discrimination.”
In a statement to The Hill, a Harvard spokesperson said the school is taking “substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”
Harvard also said it “not only shared its comprehensive and retrospective Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias Report,” but also outlined the ways it has “strengthened policies, disciplined those who violate them, encouraged civil discourse, and promoted open, respectful dialogue.”
Harvard went on to say that it will continue to comply with the accreditation commission to maintain its “uninterrupted” status, which it has maintained “since its initial review in 1929.”
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