Starting in January, American universities can more easily report foreign funding, according to the Department of Education.
The federal government will launch a new foreign funding reporting portal on Jan. 2, as part of President Donald Trump’s push to increase oversight of foreign gifts and donations to American higher education.
Section 117 of the Higher Education Act requires bachelor’s-degree-granting institutions to submit reports to the department twice a year disclosing any foreign donations exceeding $250,000 annually. The new portal will enable schools to upload contribution disclosures in bulk instead of one at a time and includes tools to help create reports and break them down into helpful graphics for the public.
The department under the first Trump administration opened investigations into foreign gift disclosures on 19 different campuses, and President Donald Trump is renewing similar efforts in 2025. In April, as part of the flurry of executive orders in his first 100 days, he signed an executive order titled Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities, calling for “robust enforcement” of reporting laws and the withholding of federal funds from schools that don’t comply.
The administration has suggested that foreign entities may have too much influence over American higher education if large foreign donations go unreported.
“America’s taxpayer-funded colleges and universities have both a moral and legal obligation to be fully transparent with the U.S. government and the American people about their foreign financial relationships,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
Nine universities have helped test the new portal and the upgrades have been based on “years of comments and feedback” on foreign funding reporting from schools, according to a department press release.
Trump also signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education in March and McMahon recently informed the public that certain department programs will be transferred to other federal departments like the State Department and the Department of the Interior. The Department of Education did not include information about future management of the portal or oversight of schools’ foreign funding disclosures beyond that the portal will become accessible on Jan. 2.
