A look at details of the settlement between Columbia University and the Trump administration
The agreement announced Wednesday clears the way for the school to keep billions of dollars in federal research money, including more than $400 million in grants canceled earlier this year.
In return, the deal calls for a number of reforms in areas such as admissions, campus protests policies and its curriculum, including a number of changes the school agreed to previously in March.
It is a document President Donald Trump's administration is calling a road map for settlements with other colleges accused of not doing enough to address campus antisemitism. Columbia University's acting president, Claire Shipman, said it protects the school's values and autonomy.
Here's what's in the settlement:
Financial payout
The university will pay the federal government $200 million over three years. It will also pay $21 million to settle alleged civil rights violations against Jewish employees that occurred following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
A pledge to end diversity programs
The university agreed to end programs 'that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotes, diversity targets or similar efforts.' Columbia, as part of the agreement, must also issue regular reports to an independent monitor assuring that its programs 'do not promote unlawful DEI goals.'
The agreement pushes Columbia to limit the consideration of race even beyond the Supreme Court's 2023 decision ending affirmative action. That decision left open the possibility that universities could consider an applicant's discussion of how their race affected their life, including in college application essays.
The agreement says: 'Columbia may not use personal statements, diversity narratives, or any applicant reference to racial identity as a means to introduce or justify discrimination.'
Faculty and curriculum changes
Columbia agreed to review its Middle East curriculum and appoint new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies who will 'contribute to a robust and intellectually diverse academic environment.'
To further support Jewish students on campus, the agreement calls for a new administrator to serve as a liaison on antisemitism issues.
Reporting on international students
Columbia University agreed to new vetting for prospective international students. The agreement calls for introducing 'questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study in the United States' and establishes processes to make sure all students are committed to 'civil discourse.'
The university also promised to provide the government with information, upon request, of disciplinary actions involving student-visa holders resulting in expulsions or suspensions.
'In several instances, the agreement codifies other practices or policies already in existence, or reviews already underway. We must always comply with government regulations regarding the international student visa program, for example,' Shipman said.
The agreement says Columbia also will 'examine its business model and take steps to decrease financial dependence on international student enrollment.' International students make up about 40% of the enrollment at Columbia.
Abiding Trump's interpretation on sex discrimination
The agreement requires full compliance with the administration's interpretation of Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination in education. Trump officials have used the law to force the removal of transgender athletes from women's sports.
Campus protest policies
The deal calls for Columbia to abide restrictions it agreed to on campus protests, including a ban on face coverings used to conceal demonstrators' identity. It says protests inside academic buildings are not acceptable under the university's code of conduct.
___
The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
a minute ago
- UPI
State Department to burn birth control worth $9.7M meant for poor nations
The U.S. government plans to destroy $9.7 million of contraceptives for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the nation "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." UPI file photo | License Photo July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. government plans to destroy a stockpile of contraceptives worth $9.7 million for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the State Department "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." The contraceptives include nearly 2 million doses of injectables, 900,000 implantable devices and more than 2 million oral packets, according to internal auditing in April obtained by The Washington Post. Chelsea Polis, a researcher with Guttsmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, told the newspaper that the contraceptives could provide more than 650,000 women with pregnancy protection for up to one year and 950,000 women for three years. U.S. laws and rules prohibit sending U.S. aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel about the procedure or advocate for the right overseas. "The State Department confirms that a preliminary decision was made to destroy certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal. No HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The destruction will cost $167,000, the spokesperson said. Most contraceptives have less than 70% of shelf life before expiration, the spokesperson said. The Guardian contacted an aide who visited the warehouse in Belgium and found the earliest expiration date was 2027. Two-thirds didn't have any labels. Belgium, the United Nations and humanitarian groups said they unsuccessfully stopped the destruction plans for the contraceptives. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump disbanded and merged into the State Department, was to have distributed them. They are part of a $9.5 billion program over 10 years to provide aid to more than 40 nations. The government said it based its decision on a policy that restricts funding for reproductive-related actions in the Mexico City Policy and the Kemp-Kasten amendment. President Ronald Reagan instituted the policy in 1985 and it has become a political issue. It has rescinded by Democratic presidents and reinstated by Republicans several times, including by President Donald Trump when he returned to office in January. A bipartisan group of U.S. legislators doesn't want the contraceptives to be destroyed, including Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. "This is a waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars and an abdication of U.S. global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths," said Shaheen, who in June sent a letter to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the matter. The U.N. Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation were interested in receiving the contraceptives. "UNFPA was in conversation with Chemonics about purchasing the contraceptives but didn't receive an answer from them," UNFPA spokesman Eddie Wright said. "It's the height of hypocrisy for a government to preach efficiency and cutting waste, only to turn around and recklessly destroy lifesaving supplies when the need has never been greater," Micah Grzywnowicz, regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network, said in a statement MSI Reproductive Choices offered to pay for shipping and repackaging. MSI provides abortion services. "The complete dismantling of the world's largest donor for international family planning has been a catastrophe for the global supply chain of contraceptives," said Sarah Shaw, associate director of advocacy and for the organization. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced an increase in teen births, according to a study at Columbia University in 2024. The number of births climbed from 4.5 million births in 2000 to 6.1 million in 2021as they decreased in the rest of the world. In Africa, 30% of all woman use birth control but more than half would use it if available, according to DebboAfrica, a healthcare company for African women. Worldwide, around half of women of reproductive age of 15-19 use some form of contraception, according to Focus2030. Foreign aid cuts could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2023, including two-thirds children, according to a study published in Lancet earlier this month. Congress earlier this month passed legislation to remove $8 billion in foreign assistance. The Atlantic reported earlier this month that 551 tons of emergency food were expiring and will be incinerated rather than being fed to almost 1.5 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Almost 800,000 Mpox vaccines to be sent to Africa also are not usable because they are past their expiration date, Politico reported earlier this month.
Wall Street Journal
a minute ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Says U.S. Reached a Trade Deal With European Union
Trump Says U.S. Reached a Trade Deal With European Union President Trump announced a trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union after meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, marking his biggest deal so far. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
CNN
a minute ago
- CNN
Watch Trump announce framework for a trade deal with EU
President Donald Trump announced that the United States and the European Union reached a framework for a trade deal, after talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland.
