GW Weekly Federal Update (March 5)

GW Updates

• On March 2, in response to the ongoing war in Iran, the State Department urged Americans across 14 countries in the Middle East to immediately depart the region. The university is closely monitoring ongoing developments and has suspended GW-related or supported travel to the Middle East for students, faculty and staff. 
  
  We do not currently have students studying abroad in any programs in the 14 countries the State Department has urged that citizens leave, including the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Kuwait. Three students were enrolled in programs in Jordan. All have been evacuated safely and remain in communication with the university.
  
  More information is available and up to date on the GW Global International Travel page. The university also encourages individuals to monitor updates from the U.S. State Department. As always, the safety and wellbeing of our community remains our highest priority. We will continue to monitor activity and share updates as they are available. 

Recent Federal Actions

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

• On February 26, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Andrea Lucas sent letters to hundreds of the country’s largest employers reminding them of their obligations under Title VII related to diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs. The letter urges employers to “reject identity politics” and states that “the only lawful way to stop discrimination on the basis of race or sex is to stop discriminating on the basis of race or sex.” The EEOC further warned that it would use all available tools to meet its goals, including education, compliance, the administrative enforcement process and litigation.

Federal Law Enforcement Activity

• In a February 26 email to members of the GW community titled “Reminder Regarding Law Enforcement Access to GW Spaces,” the university referenced a statement earlier that day by Columbia University that federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security entered a residential building at Columbia and detained a student. The email to the GW community includes a reminder that only GWPD or the Office of the General Counsel should admit law enforcement agents to non-public areas of the university and that law enforcement agents generally need a judicial warrant or subpoena to access such areas. It also asks community members to review the resources relating to federal immigration officials on campus, including the International Services Office and the Federal Update Newsletter FAQ page.

Government Shutdown 

• The partial government shutdown impacting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has now entered its third week. Negotiations are ongoing and no significant progress has been reported. Some DHS employees, including many Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel, have begun receiving reduced paychecks. However, staff in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service, and Coast Guard military personnel continue to be paid.  Updates on federal operating status are available through the Office of Personnel Management.

International Community

• On February 20, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) concluded its review of a Department of Labor rule titled “Improving Wage Protections for H-1B and PERM Employment in the United States.” The rule is expected to increase prevailing wage requirements for H-1B beneficiaries and was referenced in the President’s September proclamation establishing a $100,000 fee on certain H-1B visas. That proclamation directed the Secretary of Labor to initiate rulemaking to revise prevailing wage levels in line with the policy goals of the proclamation. The forthcoming rule is expected to be similar to a rule finalized in 2021 titled “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States,” which was later withdrawn by the Biden administration.

Department of Education

• On February 27, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a report outlining recommendations to reform the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the federal government’s primary agency for education data collection and research funding. The report recommends that IES concentrate resources on the most urgent education challenges identified by state and district leaders, develop a more streamlined and coordinated national data strategy through the National Center for Education Statistics, prioritize multi-state research awards to scale promising interventions, and place greater emphasis on practical, innovative, and policy-relevant research. The report also recommends narrowing the scope of the What Works Clearinghouse to focus on practice guides and tools to improve the use of evidence in education decision-making. The recommendations follow prior changes affecting the agency, including the cancellation of more than $1 billion in multiyear IES contracts, subsequent workforce reductions, and ongoing discussions about the agency’s role and funding, which Congress most recently maintained at approximately $790 million.
   
• On February 26, ED issued an interpretive rule intended to accelerate the process for new accrediting agencies seeking federal recognition. The rule clarifies how ED interprets the requirement that accreditors demonstrate two years of accrediting activity before applying for recognition. According to ED, qualifying activities may include adopting accreditation standards, granting or denying accreditation or pre-accreditation, conducting site visits at institutions or programs, adopting operating procedures, or establishing processes to accept accreditation applications. ED officials said the clarification is intended to address confusion about the types of activities that meet the requirement and remove barriers that have limited new entrants to the accreditation system. ED also indicated it will determine whether an applicant meets basic eligibility requirements within 60 days of submission and aims to review written petitions within six to 12 months. ED noted that only four new accrediting agencies have been recognized since 1999, while seven federally recognized accreditors currently determine institutional eligibility for federal student aid for roughly 3,000 institutions. The action follows an April 2025 executive order directing ED to accelerate recognition of new accreditors and comes as ED considers broader revisions to federal accreditation regulations.

Resources and Reminders

About this Newsletter

GW publishes this weekly Federal Update to inform students, faculty and staff about how developments in the federal government affect higher education generally and the University. This newsletter includes timely information, answers to questions from GW community members, and resources for support.