UC Berkeley
Credit: UC Berkeley

April 26, 2025 - On Friday, the U.S. Department of the Education released the following:

Today, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon directed the Office of General Counsel (OGC) to re-assume the Department’s enforcement functions relating to the disclosures of foreign gifts and contracts under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1011f). Section 117 requires that postsecondary institutions receiving federal financial assistance must disclose foreign source gifts and contracts with a value of $250,000 or more annually to the Department. 

Under the Biden Administration, enforcement responsibilities were shifted from OGC to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), which is otherwise tasked with administering federal student aid programs. By returning foreign funding disclosure oversight duties to OGC, the Trump Administration has made clear its prioritization of Section 117 enforcement. 

In addition, the Department initiated a Notice of Investigation and Records Request into the University of California, Berkeley after a review of the university’s foreign funding disclosures to the Department may be incomplete or inaccurate. The Berkeley investigation follows the Department’s announcement last week of a Section 117 investigation of Harvard University. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration turned a blind eye to colleges and universities’ legal obligations by deprioritizing oversight and allowing foreign gifts to pour onto American campuses. Despite widespread compliance failures, no new Section 117 investigations were initiated for four years, and ongoing investigations were closed prematurely,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “I have great confidence in my Office of General Counsel to investigate these matters fully, and they will begin by thoroughly examining UC Berkeley’s apparent failure to fully and accurately disclose significant funding received from foreign sources.” 

Background:

• This week, President Trump signed an Executive Order to bolster transparency requirements regarding foreign funds flowing to American higher education and research institutions. In part, it directs the Secretary of Education to: 1) Reverse or rescind any actions by the prior Administration that allow universities to obscure details regarding their foreign funding; and 2) Require universities to disclose the true source and purpose of foreign funds.
• In May 2023, credible news media reports indicated that Berkeley had failed to disclose to the Department hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from a foreign government.
• After its review of those reports and of Berkeley’s Section 117 disclosure submissions, on June 6, 2023, the Department sent a letter to Berkeley requesting that it address these allegations.
• In its responses (dated June 16, 2023, and July 7, 2023), Berkeley acknowledged having failed to report millions of dollars in foreign government funding, as required by Section 117 and detailed its multiyear effort to cultivate a close relationship with and secure financial commitments from foreign government-controlled entities.
• Berkeley’s responses revealed a fundamental misunderstanding regarding its Section 117 reporting obligations. 
  Source: U.S. Dept. of ED.