The Trump administration has issued Harvard University a denial of access letter, accusing the institution of refusing to provide documents and information on its admissions, according to a Friday announcement.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has been looking into Harvard’s admissions since May, determining whether Harvard is considering race in its undergraduate admissions, in violation of the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling as well as Title VI.
A Harvard spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The update in the investigation comes after a federal judge sided with Harvard, restoring nearly $3 billion in federal funding to the university at the beginning of September. Since then, the federal government has begun reinstating some of the funding.
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Harvard has “refused” to provide the requested information to the Office for Civil Rights, according to the federal government.
The university now has 20 days to provide the office with the required information or face further enforcement action.
“The highest court in our nation ruled conclusively that Harvard was illegally using extreme racial preferencing in their admissions processes. The Department has both the right and responsibility to verify Harvard’s compliance with federal civil rights laws. For all their claims, they refuse to provide evidence necessary for the Department to make that determination. What are they hiding?” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “No one – not even Harvard – is above the law, and we will not allow any institution to disregard its obligation to uphold students’ civil rights. The Trump Administration will continue to use all legal tools available to restore accountability and transparency to our nation’s institutions.”
The U.S. Department of Justice also launched an investigation into Harvard’s admissions in May, aiming to determine whether it has been defrauding the government.
The investigation is looking at whether the institution has been complying with the affirmative action Supreme Court ruling under the False Claims Act. The act is a federal law intended to hold entities accountable for fraud against the government.
It is asking for Harvard to hand over documents, answers to a series of questions and text messages, emails and other communication from Harvard officials that discussed President Donald Trump’s executive orders focused on DEI in the next three weeks, according to The New York Times.
A school official will also have to testify under oath about its admissions policies and how they have changed since the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, the outlet said. The official will have to be chosen within 30 days.
If the federal department finds that Harvard hasn’t been operating under federal law, it would have to return money and be fined hundreds of millions of dollars, the outlet said.
A Harvard spokesperson previously said that the institution is committed to following the law, including civil rights laws that focus on admissions and financial aid.
The institution “immediately” implemented changes following the Supreme Court decision, the spokesperson said.
Those have included: admission readers not having access to an applicant’s self-reported race or ethnicity until after the admissions process, including for people on the waitlist, and updating the training materials for readers and alumni volunteers who conduct applicant interviews to not ask or consider an applicant’s race.
Applicant essay questions were also moved away from identity-based questions to questions that will focus more on how the student will contribute to the Harvard community.
“This investigation is yet another abusive and retaliatory action – the latest of many – that the administration has initiated against Harvard since the University was forced to defend itself from harmful overreach against higher education, including the freeze and termination of millions of dollars in funding for medical and scientific research, which will lead to devastating consequences for our nation’s health, economic prosperity and scientific leadership,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Harvard President Alan Garber will continue to defend Harvard’s “legally protected principles against unfounded retaliation by the federal government.”