Columbia failed to meet accreditation standards by not protecting Jewish students — US government

The US Department of Education says it has notified a university accreditation body that it believes Columbia University had violated federal anti-discrimination laws by its alleged failure to protect Jewish students on its campus.

The alleged violation means that Columbia has not met the standards of accreditation set by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the department says.

“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,” US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon says in a statement.

A spokesperson for Columbia, which has been under pressure from the Trump administration for months, says in a statement that the school addressed the department’s concerns directly with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is continuing to work with the federal government to address antisemitism.

It is not clear how the Middle States Commission, which, like other accrediting agencies, is independent, will respond to the notification.

A spokesperson for Middle States declines to comment but confirms that the organization received a letter from the Department of Education about the matter.

While the federal government does not directly accredit US universities, it has a role in overseeing the mostly private organizations that do. Trump has often complained that accreditors approve institutions that fail to provide quality education.

Columbia has been the epicenter of a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement that has roiled US campuses over the last year and a half as Israel’s war in Gaza raged.