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Boston Globe

Trump requires colleges turn over more admissions data in fight against diversity policies

'The persistent lack of available data — 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 practice," the memo, signed by Trump said. 'Greater transparency is essential to exposing unlawful practices and ultimately ridding society of shameful, dangerous racial hierarchies.' Advertisement The memo, in effect, takes demands the Trump administration had made of individual schools and applies it to any institution that gets federal aid. New data-sharing requirements were included in the federal government's recent, wide-ranging deals with Columbia and Brown Universities. They were among the few measures the two agreements had in common, indicating the federal government's interest in getting as much raw information from colleges as possible. Harvard remains in talks with the Trump administration. Advertisement Brendan Cantwell, a professor who studies higher education at Michigan State University, said admissions data submitted under Trump's directive could allow the administration to target schools in future lawsuits or investigations. The federal government, Cantwell suggested, could selectively share information with allies, who could then sue schools they believe aren't following the law, or at the very least influence schools by giving the 'idea that your shoulder's being looked over when making all these decisions.' He added it opened the door for the government to 'set the terms by which institutions select students.' The new memo signed Thursday directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to 'expand the scope of required reporting to provide adequate transparency into admissions, as determined by the Secretary of Education,' beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. I t did not name the specific reporting requirements the department would require, but said they would need to be expanded within the next 120 days. It also asks the Education Department to revamp and publicize the data collected in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS. It directs McMahon to check whether the data institutions submit is accurate, and to 'take remedial action' against schools that don't submit information on time or provide inaccurate information. How this will change colleges' admissions practices is unclear: Schools already submit a substantial amount of information to IPEDS, as required by the Higher Education Act of 1965, including information on enrollment, graduation rates, and finances. Schools are already barred from considering race as a factor in in admissions, and students are not required to report their race in applications. Advertisement After the Supreme Court ruled two years ago — in a case focused on Harvard — that schools could not consider race in their admissions practices, colleges scrambled to make reforms to stay in line with the law while also continuing to enroll diverse classes of students. The following academic school year, however, the number of first-year Black students enrolled Still, conservative groups, who claim affirmative action practices discriminate against white and Asian students, have looked to build on their Supreme Court victory by stamping out any trace of the diversity-related initiatives and policies that existed on college campuses for decades. Some have accused universities of finding other ways to consider race in admissions and maintain diverse classes of students, such as personal statements, and are set on restoring 'merit-based' admissions that focus more on factors such as test scores. Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, which led the years-long legal fight to successfully overturn affirmative action, said the group is 'enthusiastically delighted that the administration is requiring colleges and universities to disclose this admissions data.' Blum said some colleges and universities had indicated, following the court ruling, that they 'intend to try to get around the law' by using 'racial proxies in order to put a thumb on the scales for certain races and ethnicities.' Advertisement The new data, he say, 'will be a tool used by public interest litigation groups to keep colleges and universities from cheating.' Earlier this year, the Trump administration expanded the prohibition of race-conscious selection into areas such as hiring, scholarships, and graduation ceremonies. Since then, the Trump administration has particularly singled out Harvard University in alleging schools had illegally considered factors such as race in admissions and hiring. In May, for instance, Josh Gruenbaum, an official with the US General Services Administration, instructed federal agencies to terminate all contracts with Harvard, arguing Harvard's admissions and hiring practices had violated anti-discrimination law. Brown and Columbia Universities, in their recent deals with the federal government, said they would share data about applicants' standardized test scores and grade point averages, as well as demographic data such as their race, in addition to publicizing admissions statistics. The Globe on Thursday contacted more than a dozen Massachusetts colleges, including Harvard, for comment on Trump's latest moves. All either declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries. Jonathan Fansmith, senior vice president with the American Council on Education, which represents about 1,600 colleges and universities, said schools already provide a substantial amount of information to the federal database. The new measure, he said, may 'add some more burden and complications for institutions.' But, he added, 'it's not ultimately going to do anything in terms of what the administration is talking about.' Because schools now often include measures to ensure admissions officers don't directly know the race of their applicants, he added, determining whether schools are discriminating 'is not something that's easily captured in a spreadsheet.' Advertisement Anjali Huynh can be reached at