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  • Date:

    Office of Educational Technology Brief on Navigating Artificial Intelligence in Postsecondary Education: Building Capacity for the Road Ahead (Jan. 14, 2025)

    Brief from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology titled “Navigating Artificial Intelligence in Postsecondary Education: Building Capacity for the Road Ahead.” The Brief is aimed to support institutional leaders who oversee the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across multiple areas of their institution. The Brief is divided between (1) providing recommendations, as well as guiding questions for institutional leaders related to AI; and (2) evidence-based insights on AI integration in learning environments, career readiness, admissions, enrollment, student advising and support, digital infrastructure, and faculty developments.  

    Topics:

    Cybersecurity | Data Privacy | Privacy & Transparency | Technology

  • Date:

    Department of Education Releases: Protecting Civil Rights: Highlights of Activities, Office for Civil Rights 2021-25 (Jan. 16, 2025)

    The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a record of OCR’s enforcement records during the Biden-Harris Administration titled “Protecting Civil Rights: Highlights of Activities, Office for Civil Rights 2021-25.” The record details OCR’s accomplishments in the past four years, specifying achievements in the highest number of resolutions in OCR’s history; 114 resolved complaints; publication of Civil Rights Data; and publication of 64 policy resources, comprising what OCR describes as the most productive four years in its history. 

    Topics:

    Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Constitutional Issues | Equal Protection | Higher Education Act (HEA)

  • Date:

    Tenn. v. Cardona (E.D. Ky. Jan. 9, 2025)

    Order granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment and denying Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiffs, the states of Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia, along with plaintiff intervenor Christian Educators Association International and A.C., by her mother, sued the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) challenging the Title IX Final Rule and its corresponding regulations, and alleged the regulations are invalid, the Department exceeded its lawful authority in implementing them, and that the regulations are otherwise contrary to law. In finding that the Department exceeded its statutory authority and relying on the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in its reasoning, the court wrote “there is nothing in the text or statutory design of Title IX to suggest that discrimination ‘on the basis of sex’ means anything other than it has since Title IX’s inception–that recipients of federal funds under Title IX may not treat a person worse than another similarly-situated individual on the basis of the person’s sex, i.e., male or female.” Finding that the Final Rule and its corresponding regulations exceeded the Department’s authority, and violate the Constitution, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, and denied the Department’s motion for summary judgment, ultimately barring the Final Rule from being enforced nationwide. 

    Topics:

    Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Discrimination | Students | Title IX & Student Sexual Misconduct

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Publishes New Resource on Resolving a Hostile Environment under Title VI (Jan. 10, 2025)

    The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a new resource titled “Resolving a Hostile Environment Under Title VI: Discrimination Based on Race, Color, or National Origin, Including Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics.” The Resource is intended to help school communities in understanding their obligations under Title VI, explores considerations for schools to take into account when taking action to resolve a hostile environment, and provides numerous examples of former Resolution Letters and Resolution Agreements.  

    Topics:

    Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Religious Discrimination & Accommodation

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid Reaches Settlement with Baker College for “Misrepresentations Made to Prospective Students” (Jan. 7, 2025)

    Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) and Baker College resolving alleged misrepresentations made to prospective students in violation of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The FSA investigated claims that the College made misrepresentations to prospective students regarding its graduates’ job placement rates and potential salaries through the College’s website and marking materials. Specifically, FSA considered whether over the course of nearly five years the College “misrepresent[ed]” its graduates had higher job placement rates and salaries than they actually did. The investigation found that the College did not accurately disclose how many students responded to the survey that was used in its Career Outcomes Rates or define what “career outcome” means. “Career Outcomes Rates” included unpaid options like continuing education, and the figures of over 90% “g[a]ve the impression to prospective students that nearly all of [the College’s] graduates earned employment in a paid position.” Further, FSA’s investigation reported that of the list of employers on the College’s website it claimed had hired the College’s graduates, fourteen of the 100+ listed employers had hired those individuals prior to their enrollment at the College, “creating the impression that [the College’s name] had an impact on the employer’s decision to hire the individuals when it actually did not.” Finally, the FSA charged that the College published data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics rather than from the College’s own graduate data. Under the Settlement, the College agreed to pay a fine of $2.5 million, committed to avoid misrepresentations and provide copies of all marketing materials to FSA for review for the next three years, and to remit communications to current students and employees informing them of how to submit complaints or provide information about any further misconduct to FSA. 

    Topics:

    Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Admissions | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Students

  • Date:

    OCR Resolution Agreement with John Hopkins University re Title VI Compliance (Jan. 7, 2025)

    Resolution Agreement between the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and John Hopkins University resolving a complaint that the latter responded inadequately to alleged discrimination based on shared Jewish ancestry. The associated Resolution Letter noted that OCR considered documentation of 99 incidents of alleged harassment on the basis of shared ancestry that were reported to the University from October 2023 through May 2023. OCR further reviewed the University’s Policy and Procedures, correspondence to the University community, and recognized the University’s proactive response to some incidents that could contribute to a hostile environment for students, while also identifying potential concerns regarding the University’s fulfillment of its Title VI obligations responsive to alleged discriminatory conduct. The Agreement sets forth the University’s commitment to: (1) provide training to investigators, staff, and students, (2) conduct a climate assessment, (3) engage in file reviews, and (4) report out regarding training, assessment, and reviews. 

    Topics:

    Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Religious Discrimination & Accommodation

  • Date:

    OCR Resolution Agreement with Rutgers University re Title VI Compliance (Jan. 2, 2025)

    Resolution Agreement between the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Rutgers University resolving a complaint that the latter responded inadequately to alleged discrimination based on shared Jewish ancestry. The associated Resolution Letter noted OCR’s compliance concerns regarding both potential different treatment of students based on their shared ancestry, as well as the University’s response to reports of alleged harassment and possible hostile environments for students based on their national origins (including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and/or South Asian ancestry). OCR’s investigation considered over 100 reports from students, employees, and members of the public alleging Jewish/Israeli-based discrimination and/or harassment during academic years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. OCR’s investigation also surfaced concerns as to if the University adequately evaluated whether reported or investigated harassment created a hostile environment for students, potentially permitting a hostile environment to persist unmitigated. OCR found that the University responded to reported incidents individually but was less effective in considering putative cumulative, hostile effects on the environment and remediating those effects on impacted students. Lastly, OCR expressed concerns for consistent treatment of students based on their national origin with respect to implementation of University policies and procedures governing student conduct and events on campus, such as doxxing. The Agreement sets forth the University’s commitment to: (1) provide training to investigators, staff, students, and officers, (2) conduct a climate assessment, (3) engage in file reviews, (4) issue a statement to all University students and employees that the University does not tolerate acts of discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of national origin, including shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, (5) conduct listening sessions between relevant University administrators and representatives from relevant affinity groups, and (6) report out regarding training, assessment, and reviews.  

    Topics:

    Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Religious Discrimination & Accommodation

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment: Earnings Thresholds for Calculation Year 2024 (Dec. 31, 2024)

    The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced the annual earnings threshold used to calculate earnings premium (EP) measures as part of the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) regulations. The Department notes that a program passes the EP measure by demonstrating that the median earnings for program graduates exceed the appropriate State or national earnings threshold.  

    Topics:

    Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Program Integrity & Gainful Employment

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Termination of Negotiated Rulemaking Process for State Authorization, Cash Management, Accreditation, and Related Issues (Dec. 26, 2024)

    The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced the termination of the negotiated rulemaking process for three Program Integrity and Institutional Quality issues that were part of a rulemaking process for Federal programs. The Department has decided not to make any regulatory changes on the issues of accreditation, state authorization, and cash management at this time, to allow for additional evaluation of recent changes in other regulations and industry practices. After reviewing feedback received during the negotiated rulemaking process, the Department determined that it needed to gather additional data, assess evolving industry practices, and evaluate whether existing regulations remain necessary or require modification.  

    Topics:

    Accreditation | Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Program Integrity & Gainful Employment

  • Date:

    OCR Resolution Agreement with Five Campuses in the University of California System re Title VI Compliance (Dec. 20, 2024)

    Resolution Agreement between the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Five Campuses within the University of California System resolving complaints that the latter responded inadequately to alleged discrimination based on shared Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Palestinian, and/or Arab ancestry. The Agreement resolved nine complaints filed with OCR against five University of California (UC) campuses in Los Angeles (UCLA), Santa Barbara (UCSB), San Diego (UCSD), Davis (UCD), and Santa Cruz (UCSC). The associated Resolution Letter noted concerns that the University campuses may have failed to respond promptly or effectively to possible hostile environments based on national origin/shared ancestry when: (1) the alleged harassing conduct or protests involved First Amendment-protected speech and the Universities appeared to have not adequately evaluated whether the conduct created a hostile environment based on shared ancestry; and (2) some of the Universities’ responses to alleged shared ancestry harassment may have failed to remedy the effects of a potential or apparent hostile environment and prevent a recurrence of the alleged harassment. OCR further noted that more than 150 complaints were made with regard to campus protests and encampments, articulating allegations of (1) violent and threatening speech; (2) unwanted filming and doxing; (3) reported checkpoints across campus; and (4) alleged failures by campus police to protect student protestors when they were violently attacked, injured, and intimidated by counter-protestors, including third parties. The Agreement sets forth the Universities’ commitment to: (1) provide training to investigators, staff, officers, and students, (2) conduct a climate assessment, (3) engage in file reviews, (4) obtain OCR approval for any revisions to relevant University policies and procedures, and (5) report out regarding training, assessment, and reviews. 

    Topics:

    Discrimination, Accommodation, & Diversity | Race and National Origin Discrimination | Religious Discrimination & Accommodation

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