United States Department of Education and Department of State 16 September 2026 It was announced that separate investigations into foreign financial disclosure by Duke University and United of North Dakota (UND) were conducted. The federal authorities indicate that there may be delays, incompleteness or inaccuracies in previous declarations; These continue to be allegations of investigation and are not conclusive.
Legislation and scope of investigation
Section 117 of the Higher Education Act requires universities receiving federal grants to declare a single foreign source as a total of one year. USD 250,000 Grants and contracts above. They're being asked to be here. 30 calendar days Records of internal submission of taxes, internal controls, co-operation in overseas research, foreign talent programmes and the amount of money to be declared.
The survey also involved international cooperation agreements for students, faculty and researchers. This does not imply a change in the admission or visa rules for international students in general, nor should the extension of specific cooperative investigations be interpreted as problematic for all transnational academic cooperation.
Both schools respond to the need for Taiwan readers to pay attention to the matter.
On 22 September, the headmaster of UND, Andrew Armacost, stated that he would cooperate with the investigation, denying that the school was aware of the existence of links between its Chinese aviation company and drone research, and asking the investigating authorities to clarify the allegations. WRAL reports that Duke has indicated that he will comply with federal requirements.
For Taiwan students considering United States research universities, the event was mainly the subject of transparency in school governance and research cooperation. Applicants participating in sensitive technologies, restricted laboratories or joint multinational research should check access, export controls and financing conditions with schools separately; The survey itself is not interpreted as a degree or student status restriction.
