Trump’s New Order Will Require Colleges To Share Admissions Data On Race
President Donald Trump has signed a new order that requires universities to share detailed data on the demographics of their incoming classes each year, according to The Independent. The order will allow Department of Education officials to see if universities are still using banned programs that support underrepresented groups.
A fact sheet shared with The Independent by a White House official says Trump’s presidential memorandum to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon gives her permission to require “transparency” from higher education institutions receiving federal funds in the form of student aid with a “revamp” of the department’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
Targeting Affirmative Action
The president also asks McMahon to “increase accuracy checks for data submitted by institutions” into the system and “take remedial action” if the data submitted doesn’t come through on-time or if the department finds it “incomplete or inaccurate,” according to The Independent.
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 that banned affirmative action in higher education and significantly reduced the circumstances under which institutions could consider race in making admissions decisions, the White House says.
Brown University and Columbia University recently shared demographic data to restore federal grants awarded to both institutions. Both institutions agreed to disclose data on the race, grade point average, and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students to the Trump administration.
Trump Administration’s recent orders
The memorandum is the latest order Trump has issued to roll back DEI in the US. The Trump administration also recently planned to end grants related to DEI efforts.
In an emergency application, lawyers for the Trump administration asked the justices to allow the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to scrap millions of grants related to DEI initiatives.
It then cut funding for the Digital Equity Act (DEA), which was designed to address disparities in digital access across the US. The DEA aimed to tackle digital equity gaps by supporting state and local efforts to build inclusive digital infrastructure and skills programs.
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