President Trump has signed a memorandum requiring universities to provide more admissions data to the Department of Education. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is instructed to build the data into a database accessible to parents and students. The move comes amid concerns that universities are using “race proxies” such as diversity statements to circumvent the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that states race cannot be considered in college admissions. The move aims to ensure the fairness and integrity of higher education institutions, including recruiting and training capable future workers.
Universities that accept federal money are already required to share some data with the Education Department, such as enrollment numbers and graduation rates. However, admissions data has largely been kept under wraps due to the complexities of compiling the data into an accurate spreadsheet. The Trump administration may use this as another avenue to strip schools of their funding, as the president has collectively paused billions of dollars to universities for alleged antisemitism, diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and transgender athletes in women’s sports.
While the focus of the Trump administration is returning to “merit-based” admissions, some argue that the administration’s moves will have the opposite effect. The fight around the numbers is seeking to give another line of argument to people arguing that post-secondary institutions are discriminating against white people, which the facts typically do not bear out.
