Trump's Fresh Policy Demands Higher Education Institutions to Disclose Student Admission Records
President Donald Trump has signed a new order, requiring selective four-year colleges and universities receiving federal funds to submit detailed admissions data disaggregated by race, sex, GPA, test scores, and application timing to the Department of Education. The purpose is to ensure transparency and verify compliance with the Supreme Court ruling that race cannot be used as a factor in admissions, aiming to prevent unlawful race-based discrimination and promote fairness in higher education admissions.
The order, a reflection of the administration's priority to enforce a colorblind admissions approach, challenges traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices based on race-conscious admissions. It forces selective institutions to report detailed race- and sex-disaggregated admissions data, increasing public oversight and potentially limiting universities’ ability to pursue racial diversity as a factor in their policies.
Brown University and Columbia University have recently shared demographic data to restore federal grants awarded to both institutions. The memorandum revamps the department's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, but no new information about universities sharing demographic data or the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System was provided.
The president has asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "increase accuracy checks for data submitted by institutions" into the system. If the data submitted doesn't come through on-time or if the department finds it "incomplete or inaccurate," McMahon is asked to "take remedial action." The aim for the expanded data collection is to "verify that their admissions do not involve unlawful discrimination," based on a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
This directive relates directly to affirmative action and DEI efforts as it is positioned as a measure to end what the administration regards as discriminatory, illegal use of race in admissions. It addresses concerns that despite legal rulings banning race consideration, institutions may still implicitly factor race through proxies like diversity statements. The order is intended to increase accountability by making admissions data more transparent and accessible to the public, including parents and taxpayers, who are encouraged to have confidence that admissions are conducted fairly and without racial bias.
Lawyers for the Trump administration have made an emergency application to allow the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to scrap millions of grants related to DEI initiatives. The Trump administration has also planned to end grants related to DEI efforts and has cut funding for the Digital Equity Act (DEA), aimed at tackling digital equity gaps by supporting state and local efforts to build inclusive digital infrastructure and skills programs.
The order allows Department of Education officials to see if universities are still using banned programs that support ethnic minorities. No new information about any specific universities agreeing to disclose data was provided.
In summary, the Trump administration's order seeks to ensure transparency and accountability in college admissions, prevent illegal race-based discrimination, and promote fairness in higher education admissions. The order challenges traditional DEI practices based on race-conscious admissions by imposing data reporting requirements that make race-related admissions decisions subject to public scrutiny, potentially limiting universities’ ability to pursue racial diversity as a factor in their policies.
The Trump administration's new order mandates selective institutions, receiving federal funds, to submit detailed race- and sex-disaggregated admissions data, signifying a shift away from traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices based on race-conscious admissions. This policy-and-legislation move is aimed at increasing accountability, enhancing transparency, and verifying compliance with the Supreme Court ruling, which prohibits the use of race as a factor in admissions (politics).
The order's objective is to prevent unlawful race-based discrimination and promote fairness in higher education admissions, thereby addressing concerns about institutional bias in the admissions process, a matter that intersects with affirmative action and DEI efforts (general-news).
