The Trump administration has launched a process to try to strip Columbia University of its accreditation over a finding the school had failed to meaningfully protect Jewish students from harassment.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Education Department notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Columbia’s accreditor, that the school was in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws and accordingly does not meet the commission’s standards. The government issued the finding May 22.
“Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal anti-discrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
A rep for the accreditor confirmed it had received the letter that afternoon but declined to comment further.
The threat to Columbia’s accreditation is a serious one. Most federal funding, including financial aid, hinges on a school being accredited. While it appears that only accreditors could revoke Columbia’s status, the accrediting entities themselves have to be recognized by the Education Department.
“Columbia 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,” said Columbia spokesperson Virginia Lam Abrams. “Columbia is deeply committed to combating antisemitism on our campus. We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it.”
The dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s assault on Columbia came as the New York City-based Ivy League school is negotiating with federal agencies over $400 million in canceled grants and contracts, mainly impacting medical research.
The university has made various concessions to the government — including more oversight of Middle Eastern studies and ways of cracking down on pro-Palestinian protests — that have so far proved insufficient to restore the funding.
McMahon’s statement threatened the federal funding that Columbia receives through student financial aid. In a press release, the Education Department said accreditors must take “appropriate action” against schools such as Columbia to come into compliance within a specified period.
“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,” McMahon said.
“We look forward to the commission keeping the department fully informed of actions taken to ensure Columbia’s compliance with accreditation standards.”
Columbia goes through the accreditation process about every 10 years and was recently being evaluated by the president of Johns Hopkins University, according to Stand Columbia Society, a group of faculty and alumni — who as of last month said the undertaking was “going very smoothly.”
“Accreditation was never designed to be political. In fact, one of the things that has made accreditation so successful was how the apolitical and obscure machinery of quality control hummed in the background,” Stand Columbia wrote in a newsletter last month.
“But now, for the first time in a hundred years, that backstage machinery is being pulled into the political spotlight. Where it goes from here is uncertain. What’s clear is that accreditation is no longer something most people can afford to ignore.”
Columbia became the epicenter of campus protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza when students pitched an encampment last spring calling on their administrators to divest from the war. The demonstration came to a head when a smaller group of protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, prompting the university to call in the NYPD and make mass arrests.
More recently, dozens of students took over Butler Library to protest the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate student, and what they see as Columbia’s role in his arrest by federal immigration authorities in early March.
Pro-Palestinian students and their allies have accused Columbia and the Trump administration of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
Originally Published: June 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM EDT
