The Pentagon Gives 30 Universities Two Weeks To Audit And Report On Collaborations With Foreign Entities Of Concern

On August 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) issued formal notifications to several domestic academic institutions directing each to conduct a “comprehensive audit” of collaborations with “foreign entities of concern.” The universities have until August 31, 2026 to report back to the department. At risk is the universities’ eligibility for future federal research funding.

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael framed the effort bluntly in DOD’s release, stating that the department has “zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security” and that “this action is designed to protect American taxpayer-funded research investments from unauthorized technology transfer, intellectual property theft and adversarial exploitation.” The DOD release states that, through these audits, the department can better “anticipate emerging threats, adapt to evolving adversarial tactics and maintain America’s position as a global leader in innovation.”

Higher education pushed back quickly — with the American Council on Education raising concerns that the release implies wrongdoing among universities without any evidence.

What the Notifications Require

DOD has not made the notifications public, but has stated that the notifications direct the receiving universities to take three steps:

1. Conduct a “comprehensive audit of all identified foreign collaborations.”
2. Assess the potential exposure of any sensitive or export-controlled research.
3. Put strict mitigation plans in place, including terminating “problematic” partnerships.

The DOD release identifies for audit “active institutional ties and collaborations with foreign entities” in two places.

First is the list that the department maintains under Section 1286 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. That list, referred to as the 1286 List, currently includes 130 foreign institutions — the majority in China and the remainder in Russia and Iran — that the U.S. government has flagged as “a concern to national security.” As discussed below, DOD describes the 1286 List as “specifically counter[ing] unwanted foreign influence on DoD-funded research.” Not only does it continue to grow, the 1286 List is no longer limited to obvious military targets — a July 2026 expansion added prominent civilian universities.

Second is a list of organizations associated with the “rebranded Confucius Institutes,” the Chinese government-backed language and culture programs that many U.S. schools closed years ago and that some suspect have quietly reopened under new names.

Each university that received a notification is required to submit a report to DOD following its audit, no later than August 31, 2026. That report must include both the findings of the audit and the corresponding “actions.”

The Existing Funding Bar on Collaboration With a Section 1286 Listed Entity

DOD’s release cites the 1286 List as a key source of foreign entities of concern targeted by the notifications. Congress has already enacted a funding prohibition associated with the listed institutions.

In Section 238 of the FY 2025 NDAA, Congress prohibited DOD from obligating or expending funds authorized in that act to “award a grant or contract to an institution of higher education for the specific purposes of conducting fundamental research in collaboration with a covered entity.” The term “covered entity” was defined as “an academic institution that is included in the most recently updated list developed pursuant to [Section 1286 of the FY 2019 NDAA]” and also “includes any individual employed by such an academic institution.” The term “collaboration” is also defined, and broadly. In Section 215 of this year’s NDAA, Congress extended that prohibition to funds made available to DOD for FY 2026.¹

While the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology can waive the funding prohibition on a case-by-case basis, the waiver must be “in the national security interests of the United States.”

If a university conducting an audit pursuant to a recent DOD notification identifies a collaboration with a foreign institution on the 1286 List, or with an employee of such an institution, the university not only has obligations in response to the notification, that finding may require immediate action under the existing funding prohibition in Section 215 of the FY 2026 NDAA too. And of course, the existing prohibition applies more broadly than the 30 academic institutions targeted by the DOD release.

The DOD Release Invokes Congress Too

DOD did not take this latest action alone. While the department issued the notifications, DOD’s release states that it is pursuing this effort alongside Congress — specifically, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party — as it builds what it calls “a robust research ecosystem that protects critical discoveries from exploitation.”

While the release does not elaborate, universities subject to these notifications should assume that DOD will not be the only reader of their reports: an audience on the Hill with its own interests and oversight powers may press on any perceived “problematic” partnerships.

This DOD directive is consistent with the administration’s numerous policies addressing perceived threats to research security, and national security more broadly. With the August 17, 2026 release, the department’s most immediate focus is the 30 universities that received a notification imposing these requirements on a short timeline.

The consequences of noncompliance — either with the DOD notification itself or with the corresponding law and regulation — could be severe. They implicate prior, existing, and future federal funding, and carry broader legal exposure (such as under the False Claims Act or export control laws), congressional oversight, potential criminal prosecution (such as for individual faculty), and reputational risk. Each university that has received a notification should scope the required comprehensive audit and prepare a report that reflects the seriousness of the mandate.

For universities that have not (or not yet) received a notification, DOD’s release offers insight into the department’s enforcement priorities, including under the existing funding prohibition involving foreign institutions on the 1286 List or employees of such institutions. All domestic academic institutions should consider conducting a self-assessment now, whether in anticipation of additional DOD notifications or to demonstrate continued compliance with the corresponding law and regulation.

Footnote

1 This is reflected on the latest update to the 1286 List, which states: “Effective FY 2026, the DoD is prohibited from using any funds for fundamental research that involves collaboration with any entity on the most recent Section 1286 list. This prohibition on obligating or expending funds applies to grants, contracts, or any other assistance to institutions of higher education. The restriction forbids conducting research in collaboration with, or using equipment from, any listed entity. This funding prohibition extends to all employees of such institutions.” The 1286 List goes on to warn researchers directly that “collaborating with an individual affiliated with an entity on the 1286 List constitutes a compliance risk” that could negatively impact eligibility for federal funding, that researchers are “required to disclose all affiliations with these entities,” and that failure to report that information “is a serious matter and may violate federal law.”

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