Trump Wants Colleges Admissions Data, Looking At Affirmative Action

President Trump signed a presidential memorandum Thursday requiring colleges and universities to submit expanded admissions data to the U.S. Department of Education. The move is the latest salvo in the administration’s fight against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and is intended to reveal if schools are still preferencing race in admissions even after the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in 2023. Thursday’s memo claims “the lack of available admissions data from universities – paired with the rampant use of “diversity statements” and other overt and hidden racial proxies – continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in admissions decisions in practice.”

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Any college or university that participates in the federal student loan program is already required to submit certain data to the department about enrollment, graduation rates and financial aid. Thursday’s move would compel them to report more detail about not just the students they enroll but also about those who apply. With this information, the administration believes it can clamp down on schools that may still be preferencing applicants’ race over academics. Soon after the memo’s release, Education Secretary Linda McMahon directed the National Center for Education Statistics to begin collecting additional data from schools about their applicants.

Source: NPR