An aerial photo of the University of Kansas campus from August 2015.

The University of Kansas is among 45 universities that the U.S. Department of Education is investigating related to concerns that racial preferences are playing inappropriate roles in admissions or other operations.

The Department of Education released via press release a list of schools that it had opened investigations regarding possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in programs that receive federal funding.

A violation of Title VI could put future federal funding for KU at risk.

The press release didn’t provide any details of the allegations against KU or other schools named in the press released. The majority of schools, including KU, are being investigated for “race-exclusionary practices” related to their graduate programs, the press release said.

The announcement comes after the Department of Education sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to universities across the country outlining changes that they expect universities to make when it comes to matters of race, diversity, equity, inclusion and other such matters.

The department says programs that direct scholarships or other assistance to minority populations is a form of discrimination that must end. The Feb. 14 letter said any use of race in matters of admissions, financial aid, hiring, training and “other institutional programming” is a violation of the law.

“If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person’s race, the educational institution violates the law,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education said in the letter.

The letter gave some specific examples, including that universities can not eliminate standardized testing “to achieve a desired racial balance or to increase racial diversity.” It also said that DEI programs that “teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not,” are a form of discrimination.

KU hasn’t released any specific details about the investigation, and was gathering more information about the vague announcement from the department. However, prior to the announcement KU Chancellor Douglas Girod said the university was conducting a review of its many programs, websites and other materials to ensure that it was meeting the new guidance from the Department of Education.

As the Journal-World reported last month, some programs have been suspended as the university considers the federal direction on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Since at least 2022 KU has hosted a program called the Racial Equity Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Awards, which provides funding to KU initiatives that advance racial equity work. Applications for the 2025 program were due in mid-November, but now KU’s webpage for the program says “This content is being reviewed in light of recent changes to federal guidance.”

That’s the same message that is atop the webpage of KU’s Office of Civil Rights & Title IX, which is the office responsible for working to make KU an “institution that is free from discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, sexual violence, and retaliation,” that same KU webpage says.

Some titles within the university’s workforce also have changed. KU’s research enterprise previously had an “assistant vice chancellor for diversity, equity, inclusion + belonging.” The university on Friday confirmed that the title of that position changed in August to “assistant vice chancellor for impact & belonging.” Two spokeswomen for the university did not respond to Journal-World questions last month about whether the renamed position has any diversity, equity and inclusion responsibilities.

In a brief interview with the Journal-World last week, Girod said the university staff has been working hard to review the information contained in the Feb. 14 Dear Colleague letter and frequently asked questions document that the U.S. Department of Education provided subsequent the letter’s release.

“The Dear Colleague letter was not very helpful because it was very vague and unspecific,” Girod said. “The FAQs that followed were far more based in law, and of course, we are doing our best to comply with really what has come out of the FAQs.”

Girod said he thinks some of the directives in the Dear Colleague letter are likely to be the subject of legal debate. He said KU’s legal counsel is involved in the review process. Girod — who was speaking before the announcement of the Department of Education investigation — did not say that KU was planning any legal challenges.

KU was the only university in Kansas named in the Department of Education press release. Schools in the surrounding area that were named include: Washington University in St. Louis, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa School of Community Medicine.