Executive order issued by Trump aimed at restricting race-based university admission practices
The Trump Administration has taken a significant step in promoting transparency regarding race-based admissions with an expanded data requirement for institutions receiving federal funding. The action, driven by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, aims to ensure meritocracy and excellence once again characterize American higher education.
In a move that overturns long-standing precedent, the Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that colleges and universities can no longer use race as a specific basis for granting admission. However, concerns about the practical use of race in admissions decisions persist, as not enough admissions data is available from universities.
To address this issue, the Administration has mandated colleges and universities to submit detailed, disaggregated admissions data by race and gender. This data includes standardized test scores, GPAs, and other applicant characteristics for applicants, admitted students, and enrolled cohorts.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) will be upgraded to handle this detailed data and will incorporate rigorous auditing to ensure accuracy and consistency across institutions. The policy is intended to expose any covert or explicit use of race in admissions decisions, thus preventing race-based preferences.
President Donald Trump took executive action to implement this change, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon has directed the National Center for Education Statistics to collect the data. The expanded data collection includes admissions data disaggregated by race and sex at the undergraduate level and for specific graduate and professional programs.
Thursday's executive action appears to codify this requirement for all other institutions receiving federal funding. The expanded data is expected to verify whether race is used in admissions decisions, providing Americans with transparency into admissions processes and restoring a meritocratic system focused on student achievements rather than race or ethnicity.
This expanded data collection is part of broader policy changes at colleges and universities being pushed by the Trump administration. The administration has heralded multi-million-dollar deals with Brown University and Columbia University, which require the schools to provide the federal government with admissions data showing rejected and admitted students broken down by race, color, grade point average, and performance on standardized tests.
However, the Trump administration is engaged in a pair of lawsuits with Harvard University, raising questions about the administration's approach to affirmative action and its potential impact on diversity in higher education. Regardless, the Administration's efforts to increase transparency and ensure compliance with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action and race-based admissions are likely to reshape the higher education landscape in the United States.
[1] The White House, "Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping," 24 September 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-race-and-sex-stereotyping/
[2] U.S. Department of Education, "Dear Colleague Letter on the Collection of Data on Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in Connection with Student Admissions," 26 September 2020, https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-2020-09-26.pdf
[3] National Center for Education Statistics, "Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)," https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/
- The expanded data collection, mandated by the Trump Administration, concerning race and sex in admissions at institutions receiving federal funding, falls under the policy-and-legislation category, as it involves significant changes in the requirements for colleges and universities.
- The general-news landscape has been dominated by discussions surrounding the Trump Administration's efforts to increase transparency in race-based admissions, with the Supreme Court ruling in June 2023 and the subsequent policy changes in higher education being prominent topics of interest.
