Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1011f), provides that institutions of higher education (IHEs) must file a disclosure report with the Secretary of Education whenever the institution is owned or controlled by a foreign source or receives a gift from or enters into a contract with a foreign source, the value of which is $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with that foreign source within a calendar year.
The next date by which IHEs must submit disclosure reports is Thursday, July 31, 2025. The July reporting deadline is established by statute.
Failure to comply with the reporting requirement could result in enforcement action. A U.S. Department of Education (ED) April 25, 2025, press release emphasizes ED’s priority to enforce Section 117 reporting requirements.
Please note:
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The reporting portal for the required Section 117 disclosure reports is located at https://partners.ed.gov/ForeignGifts.
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A set of Section 117 Frequently Asked Questions is located here.
For any technical questions or access issues related to the Section 117 reporting portal, contact our information technology office at ForeignGiftsAccess@ed.gov.
For all other questions about the U.S. Department of Education’s Section 117 efforts, contact our compliance team at ForeignSourceReporting@ed.gov.
For general information, guidance, and training related to Section 117, refer to the Section 117 Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting Topics page on the Knowledge Center.