On Thursday, a new executive order was issued that directly affects higher education institutions across the country. This new directive requires all colleges and universities to submit data verifying that race is not being considered in admissions decisions.
“American students and taxpayers deserve confidence in the fairness and integrity of our Nation’s institutions of higher education, including confidence that they are recruiting and training capable future doctors, engineers, scientists, and other critical workers vital to the next generations of American prosperity. Race-based admissions practices are not only unfair, but also threaten our national security and well-being. It is therefore the policy of my (Trump) Administration to ensure institutions of higher education receiving Federal financial assistance are transparent in their admissions practices.”
The executive order instructs the Secretary of Education to work with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and other stakeholders to revamp the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) portal and data collection. Within 120 days (by late November 2025), and starting with the 2025–2026 academic year, the Secretary must expand what admissions-related data institutions must report and make these enhanced requirements public.
NCES is responsible for collecting and publishing a wide range of data from American educational institutions. It oversees IPEDS, which collects admissions, enrollment, and financial information from colleges and universities that participate in financial assistance programs.
Following the executive order, the Secretary of Education issued a directive to NCES to start collecting more detailed admissions data from colleges and universities, specifically focused on race and sex breakdowns of applicants, admitted students, and enrollees.
“As part of their regular data reporting process, institutions of higher education will now have to report data disaggregated by race and sex relating to their applicant pool, admitted cohort, and enrolled cohort at the undergraduate level and for specific graduate and professional programs. This data will include quantitative measures of applicants’ and admitted students’ academic achievements such as standardized test scores, GPAs and other applicant characteristics.”
In addition to the new data metrics to be collected, the Secretary instructed NCES to develop a rigorous audit process to ensure the data being collected is accurate and reported consistently across institutions.
“Following the revelations of rampant racial preferencing in college admissions exposed by SFFA v. Harvard, the Trump Administration is now standardizing reporting from colleges and universities to provide full transparency into their admissions practices. It should not take years of legal proceedings, and millions of dollars in litigation fees, to elicit data from taxpayer-funded institutions that identifies whether they are discriminating against hard working American applicants. Going forward, universities will be required to provide this data directly to us through an existing data system,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “We will not allow institutions to blight the dreams of students by presuming that their skin color matters more than their hard work and accomplishments. The Trump Administration will ensure that meritocracy and excellence once again characterize American higher education.”
While the directive is seen by some as a move toward increased openness in college admissions, others are expressing unease over its lack of clarity. Unresolved issues include how the required data will be gathered, who will manage its review, and whether institutions will receive sufficient direction and resources to ensure proper compliance.
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