1840-AD50 202510 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 1840 Office of Postsecondary Education OPE 1800 Department of Education ED Documentation of Foreign Source Gifts and Contracts, Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965

The Department intends to propose regulations covering institutions’ reporting of statutorily defined gifts, contracts, and/or restricted and conditional gifts or contracts from or with defined foreign sources, pursuant to the requirements of section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

]]> Other Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Prerule Stage No No Regulatory 34 CFR 668 34 CFR 695 20 U.S.C. 1011f Yes

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, codified at 20 U.S.C. 1011f, requires that institutions of higher education that receive federal funding must biannually disclose to the Department of Education foreign gifts, contracts, and ownership, the value of which (alone or combined) is $250,000 or more annually. In an official report published by the Department in October 2020 (Institutional Compliance with Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965), the Department reported findings of widespread noncompliance with Section 117’s relatively simple disclosure requirements amounting to billions of dollars in unreported but qualifying foreign funding transactions. The Department’s review of IHE disclosures indicates significant improvements in compliance, although noncompliance continues to occur at unacceptably high levels. Evidence obtained by the Department through disclosures submitted by IHEs and records obtained by the Department through its civil investigations have revealed significant continued noncompliance by IHEs.

Issued on Apr. 22, 2025, Executive Order 14282 (Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities) further clarified the need for significantly improved enforcement of Section 117’s disclosure requirements. The Department is statutorily obligated to provide robust enforcement of Section 117’s disclosure requirements as required by Congress to ensure transparency with regard to foreign funding and involvements in higher education.

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Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, codified at 20 U.S.C. 1011f, requires that institutions of higher education that receive federal funding must biannually disclose to the Department of Education foreign gifts, contracts, and ownership, the value of which (alone or combined) is $250,000 or more annually. The current version of this disclosure requirement was adopted in 1998, see Pub. Law 105-244, Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Title I, sec. 102(a), adding HEA Title I, sec. 117 (Oct. 7, 1998); but a substantially similar disclosure requirement has been in place since 1986. See Pub. Law 99-498, Higher Education Amendments of 1986, Title XII, sec. 1206, adding HEA Title XII, sec. 1207 (Oct. 17, 1986) (then codified at 20 U.S.C. 1145d). In addition, IHEs are required to accurately and timely report qualifying Section 117 foreign funding under their Program Participation Agreements (PPAs) with the Department, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17), which provides that [i]n order to be an eligible institution for the purposes of any program authorized under this subchapter, an institution must . . . enter into a program participation agreement with the Secretary. The agreement shall condition the initial and continuing eligibility of an institution to participate in a program upon compliance with the following requirements: . . . (17) The institution will complete surveys conducted as a part of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) or any other Federal postsecondary institution data collection effort, as designated by the Secretary, in a timely manner and to the satisfaction of the Secretary. Under 20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17), where an IHE fails to report Section 117 information timely and accurately, the IHE has failed to comply with its reporting obligations under 20 U.S.C. 1011f and failed to comply with the requirements contained in its PPA.

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The Department’s ongoing information collection efforts, vastly improved through the Department’s creation of a new foreign funding reporting portal (www.ForeignFundingHigherEd.gov), is the least costly alternative for securing improved compliance by IHEs with Section 117’s straightforward requirements. The new reporting portal also facilitates compliance by IHEs through a significantly more user-friendly reporting portal.

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The Department executed a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Contract in support of the creation and maintenance of the new foreign funding reporting portal (www.ForeignFundingHigherEd.gov). The original contract obligated $9,828,256.13 for an initial nine-month base year through June 18, 2026, and included four twelve-month option years thereafter that would bring the potential award to over $60 million.

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There are significant national security risks associated with the failure to timely and accurately disclose foreign funding to IHEs, particularly to federally funded research universities (which receive approximately $65 billion annually in support of sometimes highly classified weapons-related technological developments (i.e., critical emerging technologies). Universities often have significant contracts for the operation of important national laboratories (e.g., the Los Alamos National Laboratory a Department of Energy national laboratory with well known historical and current involvements is managed by Texas A&M University; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory critically important to U.S. space involvements and related technologies is managed by the California Institute of Technology). In addition, foreign influence operations on IHE campuses continue to be deeply concerning to Congress, the President, and the American people. Section 117’s transparency requirements continue to play an important statutory role in providing Congress, the President, and the American people with important ongoing knowledge regarding efforts to safeguard America’s research enterprise.

]]> Notice of Intent to Commence Negotiated Rulemaking 11/00/2026 No Undetermined No Undetermined www.regulations.gov No No Paul Moore Chief Investigative Counsel, Office of the General Counsel 1840 Office of Postsecondary Education OPE 999 999-9999 paul.moore@ed.gov 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Seventh Floor, Washington DC 20202