As Congress and federal security agencies continue
to raise concerns about foreign influence at colleges and universities,
campuses have had an increasing number of questions about the foreign
gift and contract reporting requirements under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act
(HEA).
In response to the increasing concerns of policy
makers and requests from campuses seeking guidance about these reporting
requirements, ACE and several higher education associations wrote
the Department of Education (ED) last January requesting clarification of the
Sec. 117 foreign gift reporting obligations. Since that time, ACE and ED have
exchanged several letters about the need to clarify the reporting requirements,
but the department has repeatedly refused to supply the needed information.
This week, ED filed an information
collection request that it says will help build a “modernized
collection portal” that will simplify the reporting process. However, ACE and
others in the higher education community are concerned that the new portal
would instead complicate the process. It would increase the scope of Section
117 beyond what the statute requires and significantly expand the type of
information colleges and universities must report. Click here
for details on what new information might be required.
While this is not a regulatory process, there is
still an initial 60-day public comment period. ACE, along with the other major
higher education associations, will be filing comments in the coming weeks.
ACE will also be working to alert lawmakers to this
expansion of the scope of Section 117. Congress is expected to address the
issue as part of the upcoming HEA reauthorization.