Higher education institutions maintain breakdowns of acceptances, GPAs, and test scores by race, but that information hasn’t been shared publicly.
Colleges and universities that receive federal funding will be required to share information and data about their admissions practices with the public under President Donald Trump’s new directive to the Department of Education.
The order, titled, Ensuring Accountability in Higher Education, was announced on Aug. 7. It expands the federal data reporting system to include admission criteria at schools.
Websites of colleges and universities, as well as the Center for Education Statistics website, break down overall acceptance rates and enrollment figures by gender and race. There is also data noting average grade point averages and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Tests).
Higher learning institutions also have data on the racial breakdowns for accepted and rejected students, average grade point averages, and standardized test scores. If that information is shared, the public can gauge whether schools are still considering race in admissions, which is illegal. Whether that information is released at the request of the federal government remains to be seen.
Institutions that fail to share information on time could lose federal funding.
The order reaffirms the end of discriminatory race-based admissions practices, which the U.S. Supreme Court deemed illegal and unconstitutional in a 2023 decision. Trump’s order is aimed at removing all diversity statements from higher learning institutions and what he calls other “overt and hidden racial proxies.”
Trump previously issued executive orders prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices such as consideration of race in admissions or hiring, mandatory diversity training, affinity groups, and ideological instruction aimed at certain races or religions.
There were additional executive orders for combating campus anti-Semitism and prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s sports or using women’s facilities.
A White House fact sheet issued ahead of Trump’s announcement noted the president’s previous resolutions with Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Brown University, all of which acknowledged wrongdoing related to anti-Semitism or Title IX violations.
The fact sheet also noted Trump’s efforts to suspend Harvard University’s visa program for international students in the interest of national security.
