Does Harvard Have an Accreditation Problem on Its Hands?

Offices within the Department of Education and Health and Human Services notified the New England Commission of Higher Education that Harvard may fail to meet accreditation standards based on its violation of federal antidiscrimination laws.

“Pursuant to President Trump’s Executive Order, Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, both Departments have an obligation to promptly provide accreditors with any noncompliance findings related to member institutions,” HHS said in a statement on Wednesday.

Given that the Commission's accreditation standards state that member institutions must have “non-discriminatory policies and practices in recruitment, admissions, employment, evaluation, disciplinary action, and advancement," Harvard may no longer be in compliance due to HHS's Office for Civil Rights finding that Harvard is in violation of Title VI.

On February 3, HHS’ [Office for Civil Rights] initiated a compliance review of Harvard Medical School based on reports of antisemitic incidents during its 2024 commencement ceremony. On April 7, 2025, HHS OCR expanded the scope of the compliance review to Harvard University as a whole and to the time period from October 7, 2023, to the present. On March 10, The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent a letter to Harvard University warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI to protect Jewish students.
On June 30, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism notified Harvard that HHS’ OCR found that the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964) by acting with deliberate indifference toward discrimination and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students on its campus from October 7, 2023 to the present.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. (HHS)

ED & @HHSgov have notified the New England Commission of Higher Education that Harvard University is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore may fail to meet the Commission’s standards for accreditation. https://t.co/Slx97i321x pic.twitter.com/NAH5l1IoKL
— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov) July 9, 2025

“Accrediting bodies play a significant role in preserving academic integrity and a campus culture conducive to truth-seeking and learning," said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "Part of that is ensuring students are safe on campus and abiding federal laws that guarantee educational opportunities to all students. By allowing antisemitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked on its campus, 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., meanwhile, said Harvard will be held accountable.

“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 in a statement. “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.”