The White House and the Education Department have intensified their scrutiny of colleges’ relationships with foreign entities, particularly China. Under the Higher Education Act, institutions must inform the department of donations and contracts coming from outside the U.S. that are worth $250,000 or more in a calendar year.
A Senate subcommittee investigation led to a report last year finding that a significant number of colleges failed to disclose payments meeting that threshold from Hanban, an educational arm of the Chinese government. The department then created new reporting standards, which amounted to an extensive checklist that colleges must file twice a year.