On December 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the launch of a new Section 117 foreign gifts and contracts reporting portal. On February 23, 2026, ED announced a new interagency partnership with the U.S. Department of State (State) to support ED’s enforcement of Section 117 compliance by colleges and universities.

These steps are part of the federal government’s continued efforts to increase transparency regarding foreign influence in higher education, as well as enforcement actions against colleges and universities, as reflected in the April 23, 2025, Executive Order, “Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities.” This Executive Order underscored the federal government’s robust enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, including audits, investigations, and the requirement for timely and complete disclosure of foreign funding. Hunton discussed the Executive Order in a prior client alert here.

Section 117 Requirements
Section 117 requires U.S. colleges and universities receiving federal financial assistance to report any gifts from, or contracts with, a foreign source where the value meets or exceeds $250,000 in a calendar year, either individually or in aggregate. Additional reporting obligations apply to restricted or conditional gifts and contracts, and institutions owned or controlled by a foreign source must also report.

Specifically:

• Section 117 reports are due semi-annually, on January 31 and July 31, with certain data made available to the public.
• The statute authorizes the Attorney General to bring civil actions to compel compliance.
• Willful noncompliance may result in the institution being liable for the full costs of compliance investigations and, in some cases, penalties under the False Claims Act.
• Section 117 compliance is also now treated as a material condition for participation in Title IV federal student aid programs.
• Submission of false information may subject the institution to criminal penalties.

ED has sub regulatory guidance, FAQs, and instructions on Section 117 compliance on its website.

The New Section 117 Portal: Features and Improvements
The new Section 117 portal at ForeignFundingHigherEd.gov is meant to be user friendly – for both institutions uploaded data and for members of the public reviewing the publicly-posted data. The site includes data on top countries providing gifts and contracts to U.S. institutions and a list of institutions, all searchable. Prior Section 117 data files are still available through the “downloads” tab. The site also includes training and user guides, but does not (yet) include the full scope of sub-regulatory guidance and FAQs available on the FSA website.

For institutions uploading data, ED has explained that institutions should be able to:

• Bulk upload data: Allows institutions to efficiently submit multiple gifts or contracts in a single upload.
• Designate new user roles: New user roles (Primary Destination Point Administrator, Data Analyst, Manager, Sponsor) enable better workflow management and internal controls.
• Experience user upgrades: Features such as “save as draft,” easy review of prior submissions, amendment tracking, summary pages, download/export functionality, and automated session timeouts.

Compliance Considerations
Section 117 compliance is institution-wide and may require significant coordination across offices. As demonstrated by ED’s interagency agreement with State – the federal government views Section 117 compliance as an enforcement priority. Noncompliance exposes institutions of higher education not only to potential enforcement actions, but also financial penalties and reputational risk. ED’s renewed enforcement posture, coupled with expanded federal scrutiny, makes timely and accurate reporting more critical than ever.

As a result, institutions should take affirmative steps to ensure their ongoing compliance with Section 117 – even before they receive a foreign gift or sign a foreign contract. For example, institutions should consider:

• Continue to and ensure ongoing methods to identify contracts and gifts from “foreign sources” that may fall under Section 117’s purview.
• Putting in place measures to estimate the value of foreign gifts and contracts before receipt/execution and at the time of receipt/execution to determine if the $250,000 threshold under Section 117 will be met.
• Monitoring ForeignFundingHigherEd.gov, the FSA Electronic Announcements, and the State Department for future guidance on Section 117 and outcomes of enforcement actions.

How Hunton’s Higher Education Team Can Help
Colleges and universities should remain abreast of all of their federal reporting obligations, including under Section 117. If you have questions about your institution’s Section 117 reporting compliance or foreign gifts and contracts more generally, please do not hesitate to reach out your Hunton Higher Education attorney for assistance.