Over 30 years ago, Congress enacted Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) in light of concerns about the growing financial relationship between U.S. universities and foreign sources. Congress balanced academic freedom and national security by mandating financial transparency through required reporting of contracts with and gifts from a foreign source that, alone or combined, are valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year.
Summary of Findings
- Report on Institutional Compliance with Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 [PDF, 596KB]
Event: "No Strings Attached? Tracing Foreign Funding in U.S. Higher Education"
Gifts and Contracts Involving Foreign Sources
Information Collection
- Notice of Interpretation Section 117 Federal Register notice (Official) [PDF, 242KB]
- Foreign Gift and Contract Disclosure Form [PDF, 123KB]
- Information Collection Request - Supporting Statement [PDF, 172KB]
- Response to Public Comments (60-day notice) [PDF, 232KB]
- Response to Public Comments (30-day notice) [PDF, 134KB]
- Reporting Portal (for school officials)
Notices of Investigation and Records Requests
- Georgetown University (June 13, 2019) [PDF, 323KB]
- Texas A&M University (June 13, 2019) [PDF, 323KB]
- Cornell University (July 3, 2019) [PDF, 322KB]
- The State University of New Jersey ("Rutgers University") (July 3, 2019) [PDF, 322KB]
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (September 26, 2019) [PDF, 12MB]
- University of Maryland (September 26, 2019) [PDF, 3MB]
- Harvard University (February 11, 2020) [PDF, 5MB]
- Yale University (February 11, 2020) [PDF, 6MB]
- University of Texas (April 24, 2020) [PDF, 2.3MB]
- Case Western Reserve University (May 27, 2020) [PDF, 3.1MB]
- Fordham University (August 10, 2020) [PDF, 190KB]
- Stanford University (August 10, 2020) [PDF, 225KB]
- University of Alabama (December 22, 2020) [PDF, 178KB]
- Auburn University (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 267KB]
- Florida State University (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 241KB]
- Georgia State University (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 266KB]
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 268KB]
- University of New Mexico (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 266KB]
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 266KB]
Related Material
- Letter to Seyfarth Shaw (July 24, 2019) [PDF, 775KB]
- Letter to American Council on Education (July 30, 2019) [PDF, 692KB]
- Letter to American Council on Education (September 6, 2019) [PDF, 145KB]
- Letter to Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (September 6, 2019) [PDF, 162KB]
- Letter to National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (September 6, 2019) [PDF, 148KB]
- Letter to Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (November 27, 2019) [PDF, 4MB]
- Electronic Announcement (June 22, 2020)
- Closure Notification to the University of Texas (November 25, 2020) [PDF, 98KB]
- GAO Report, Federal Research: Agencies Need to Enhance Policies to Address Foreign Influence (December 17, 2020)
- Letter to Senator Carper HEA 117 (January 8, 2021) [PDF, 663KB]
- Letter to Senator Portman HEA 117 (January 8, 2021) [PDF, 662KB]
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (January 13, 2021) [MS Word, 55KB]
- Closure Notification to the University of Alabama (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 157KB]
- Closure Notification to Georgetown University (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 153KB]
- Closure Notification to Texas A&M University System (January 15, 2021) [PDF, 158KB]
Statute
- 20 U.S.C. 1011f [PDF, 222KB]
Questions and Comments
If you have questions about the Department's Section 117 efforts or information you wish to provide on related issues, please send to:
ForeignSourceReporting@ed.gov or
U.S. Department of Education
Office of the General Counsel
Attn: HEA Section 117 Reporting
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202