Trump tightens norms for university accreditation, foreign gifts; to affect funding, diversity

US president Donald Trump on Wednesday (23) signed an order intended to toughen standards for college accreditation, a requirement for accessing federal student financial aid.

It was one of seven education-related actions taken by the president during an event in the Oval Office.

They covered a range of topics, including fostering artificial intelligence competency in schools and improving job training for skilled trades.

These orders aim to put pressure on universities and cripple their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

The administration has already frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for numerous universities, pressing the institutions to make policy changes and citing what it says is a failure to fight antisemitism on campus.

Harvard University is suing the administration over a funding freeze.

While the federal government does not directly accredit US universities, it has a role in overseeing the mostly private organizations that do so.

Accreditation is required for colleges to access federal student loans and grants.

Trump has often complained that accreditors approve institutions that fail to provide quality education, a sentiment echoed in the executive order.

The order directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to make the accrediting organizations more accountable for schools' "poor performance" and civil rights violations through restrictions on or termination of their accrediting rights, a White House fact sheet said.

Trump ordered McMahon and attorney general Pam Bondi to investigate and take action against unlawful discrimination by US colleges and graduate schools including law and medical schools.

Foreign gifts, diversity

Another order on Wednesday (23) directed the administration to enforce existing laws requiring universities to disclose when they receive large foreign gifts, amid worries by Trump of foreign influence at universities.

It directed McMahon to take steps to require universities to disclose specific details about foreign funding, including "the true source and purpose of the funds," a White House fact sheet said.

Yet another order sets up an initiative on historically Black colleges and universities aimed at promoting excellence and innovation at the schools.

Under the initiative, an annual White House summit on HBCUs will be staged to "foster collaboration and address key priorities for HBCU success," a White House fact sheet said.

Trump said another order targeted diversity, equity and inclusion policies that impacted how students are disciplined.

It said school discipline "should be based on student behavior, rather than racial statistics."

Universities protest

More than 100 educational institutions issued a joint letter on Tuesday (22) condemning Trump's unprecedented "political interference" in American academia.

The White House brushed off this criticism, and, referring to Harvard, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters, "The president has made it quite clear that it's Harvard who has put themselves in a position to lose their own funding by not obeying federal law."

The educational facilities - including Ivy League institutions Princeton and Brown - said in the letter that they spoke with "one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education."

"We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight. However, we must oppose undue government intrusion," it said, adding: "We must reject the coercive use of public research funding."

Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status and the enrolment of foreign students.

The letter said the schools were committed to serving as centers where "faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation."

Harvard case

The White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over admissions and hiring practices at the country's oldest and wealthiest university.

But Harvard rejected the government's demands, prompting the administration last week to order the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the institution.

In its lawsuit, Harvard calls for the freezing of funds and conditions imposed on federal grants to be declared unlawful, as well as for the Trump administration to pay the institution's costs.

The Department of Homeland Security has also threatened Harvard's ability to enroll international students unless it turns over records on visa holders' "illegal and violent activities."

International students made up 27.2 per cent of Harvard's enrollment this academic year, according to its website.

Gaza protests

The administration claims protests against Israel's war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year were rife with anti-Semitism.

Many American universities, including Harvard, cracked down on the protests over the allegations at the time.

Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have also bowed to demands from the Trump administration, which claims the educational elite is too left-wing.

The Republican president has also pursued a wide-ranging immigration crackdown that has expanded to foreign students, revoking their visas, often for little or no reason. (Agencies)