As announced on December 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is pleased to provide assistance to institutions of higher education (IHEs) in preparation for using the new Section 117 Foreign Gifts and Contracts Reporting Portal, which will go live on January 2, 2026. In an effort to incorporate the functional and user experience improvements recommended by IHEs, ED has engaged in a highly collaborative testing process with nine IHEs, who participated in the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) process to provide their improvements to reporting challenges.
The new reporting portal is designed to provide your institution with a more tailored, efficient, and institution-specific foreign funding reporting process, while simultaneously facilitating maximum compliance with Section 117 and disclosure accuracy. New capabilities, such as the bulk upload and the enhanced user-defined roles, are institution-recommended features that fundamentally improve usability and functionality of the portal, streamlining the reporting process and enhancing both accountability and data accuracy across the Section 117 reporting mandate.
ED collaborated directly with IHEs through the UAT process to obtain direct feedback. Input from IHEs led directly to many of the improvements in the design of the new reporting portal.
Of note are:
-
Bulk Upload Capability: A highly requested feature to facilitate the efficient submission of multiple reportable gifts and contracts.
-
Enhanced User-Defined Roles: A new functionality affording your institution greater internal control and workflow management.
-
Comprehensive Resources and Training: To ensure a seamless user transition and maximize system benefits, ED is developing comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and a suite of new training resources, including dedicated video tutorials designed to support user proficiency and efficient Section 117 reporting.
The new portal introduces defined roles to enhance internal workflow and oversight:
|
Role |
|
|
Primary Destination Point Administrator (PDPA) |
Designates and authorizes other institutional personnel (Data Analysts and Managers) to participate in the Section 117 reporting process. |
|
Data Analyst |
Creates, reviews, and revises draft submissions. |
|
Manager |
Oversees the process by reviewing and revising (if necessary) any Data Analyst's draft work prior to final submission. |
-
Note: The new portal significantly enhances the Primary Destination Point Administrator (PDPA) role, transforming it into a more engaged management function. The PDPA will now be responsible for authorizing and designating institutional personnel—such as Data Analysts and Managers—to participate in the Section 117 reporting process. PDPAs will also review and attest to each data submission and then release it to ED as an official record.
|
Date |
Action/Status |
URL/Location |
|
December 16, 2025 |
Current Portal Closure: Access to the existing reporting portal will be disabled. |
https://partners.ed.gov/ForeignGifts (Closure) |
|
January 2, 2026 |
New Portal Go-Live: The new Section 117 reporting portal will be fully operational. |
www.ForeignFundingHigherEd.gov |
We understand that IHE users may have questions about the upcoming implementation of the new Section 117 reporting portal. To support user transition to the new portal, ED will be providing several training opportunities in the coming weeks, including:
-
December 15, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time (ET), ED will provide a training webinar (link for webinar registration will follow in a separate communication). The training webinar will include a welcome and introduction from Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent, an explanation of the access authorization process for the new portal, a detailed demonstration of the new portal, and a moderated question-and-answer session.
-
December 18, 2025, ED will release the training webinar, and associated materials will be made available via the following link at Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) Knowledge Center: fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/section-117-foreign-gift-and-contract-reporting.
-
Current Guidance: Existing guidance (FAQs, deadlines) initially remains unchanged and is located at FSA’s Knowledge Center.
-
Future Guidance: Following the launch, all existing and future guidance and information will be published at the new portal's address: www.ForeignFundingHigherEd.gov.
-
Technical/Access Questions: For technical questions or access issues related to the reporting portal, please contact us at ForeignGiftsAccess@ed.gov. If your question concerns the new portal (post-January 2, 2026), please include "New Portal Implementation" in the subject line.
-
Policy/Compliance Questions: Any other questions concerning Section 117 policy will continue to be answered by the Section 117 compliance team at ForeignSourceReporting@ed.gov.
ED will continue to publish additional Electronic Announcements to remind institutions of these important dates. Please monitor the Knowledge Center for these updates and to access training materials.