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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump orders colleges to prove they don't consider race in admissions
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order requiring colleges to submit data to prove they do not consider race in admissions. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of affirmative action in admissions but said colleges may still consider how race has shaped students' lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays. Trump's Republican administration is accusing colleges of using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which conservatives view as illegal discrimination. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement that there has been 'rampant racial preferencing in college admissions.' As such, she directed the National Center for Education Statistics to collect admissions data on higher education institutions. '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,' McMahon said. Colleges and universities must report data on their applicant pool, admitted students and enrolled students separated by race and sex across the institution. Data will include standardized test scores, GPAs and other academic achievements. '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,' she said. The role of race in admissions has featured in the administration's battle against some of the nation's most elite colleges — viewed by Republicans as liberal hotbeds. For example, the executive order is similar to parts of recent settlement agreements the government negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, restoring their federal research money. The universities agreed to give the government data on the race, grade point average and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to an audit by the government and to release admissions statistics to the public. Harvard University is still in talks with the Trump administration over a potential deal. Conservatives have argued that despite the Supreme Court ruling, colleges have continued to consider race through proxy measures. The executive order makes the same argument. 'The lack of available admissions data from universities — 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 admissions decisions in practice,' said a fact sheet shared by the White House ahead of the Thursday signing. The impact of the Supreme Court ruling The first year of admissions data after the Supreme Court ruling showed no clear pattern in how colleges' diversity changed. Results varied dramatically from one campus to the next. Some schools, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Amherst College, saw steep drops in the percentage of Black students in their incoming classes. But at other elite, selective schools such as Yale, Princeton and the University of Virginia, the changes were less than a percentage point year to year. Read more: Top colleges are losing diversity. State and community schools are seeing a boost Some colleges have added more essays or personal statements to their admissions process to get a better picture of an applicant's background, a strategy the Supreme Court invited in its ruling. 'Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant's discussion of how race affected the applicant's life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university,' Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in 2023 for the court's conservative majority. It is unclear what practical impact the executive order will have on colleges, which are prohibited by law from collecting information on race as part of admissions, says Jon Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents. 'Ultimately, will it mean anything? Probably not,' Fansmith said. 'But it does continue this rhetoric from the administration that some students are being preferenced in the admission process at the expense of other students.' Because of the Supreme Court ruling, schools are not allowed to ask the race of students who are applying. Once students enroll, the schools can ask about race, but students must be told they have a right not to answer. In this political climate, many students won't report their race, Fansmith said. So when schools release data on student demographics, the figures often give only a partial picture of the campus makeup. As an alternative to affirmative action, colleges for years have tried a range of strategies to achieve the diversity they say is essential to their campuses. Many have given greater preference to low-income families. Others started admitting top students from every community in their state. Prior to the ruling, nine states had banned affirmative action, starting with California in 1996. The University of California saw enrollment change after the statewide ban in 1996. Within two years, Black and Hispanic enrollments fell by half at the system's two most selective campuses — Berkeley and UCLA. The system would go on to spend more than $500 million on programs aimed at low-income and first-generation college students. The 10-campus University of California system also started a program that promises admission to the top 9% of students in each high school across the state, an attempt to reach strong students from all backgrounds. A similar promise in Texas has been credited for expanding racial diversity, and opponents of affirmative action cite it as a successful model. In California, the promise drew students from a wider geographic area but did little to expand racial diversity, the system said in a brief to the Supreme Court. It had almost no impact at Berkeley and UCLA, where students compete against tens of thousands of other applicants. Today at UCLA and Berkeley, Hispanic students make up 20% of undergraduates, higher than in 1996 but lower than their 53% share among California's high school graduates. Black students, meanwhile, have a smaller presence than they did in 1996, accounting for 4% of undergraduates at Berkeley. After Michigan voters rejected affirmative action in 2006, the University of Michigan shifted attention to low-income students. The school sent graduates to work as counselors in low-income high schools and started offering college prep in Detroit and Grand Rapids. It offered full scholarships for low-income Michigan residents and, more recently, started accepting fewer early admission applications, which are more likely to come from white students. Despite the University of Michigan's efforts, the share of Black and Hispanic undergraduates hasn't fully rebounded from a falloff after 2006. And while Hispanic enrollments have been increasing, Black enrollments continued to slide, going from 8% of undergraduates in 2006 to 4% in 2025. More Higher Ed 'Severely lacking': Trump admin has backlog of 27K student loan complaints Legal document shows discord between Harvard and Trump admin amid negotiations Harvard and Trump admin await judge's decision as deadline ticks closer 'They fear deportation': University student newspaper sues Trump admin over free speech Is Harvard considering a $500M deal with Trump? Faculty don't think so Read the original article on MassLive. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Harvard under investigation over participation in visa program for foreign students and researchers
In the latest in series of Trump administration inquiries targeting Harvard University, the State Department said Wednesday it is investigating whether the Ivy League school will remain part of a government program that provides American visas for students and researchers from other countries. Harvard has faced mounting sanctions and scrutiny from Washington since rejecting demands from a federal antisemitism task force in April. Harvard has filed a lawsuit challenging $2.6 billion in federal cuts and has accused the Republican administration of waging a retaliation campaign. The statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not say why his department was examining Harvard's eligibility to take part in the Exchange Visitor Program, which allows foreign nationals to study or work in the United States through cultural and education exchange programs. It said all sponsors, such as Harvard, 'are required to fully comply with exchange visitor regulations, transparency in reporting, and a demonstrated commitment to fostering the principles of cultural exchange and mutual understanding upon which the program was founded.' A spokesman for Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The department said the investigation will seek to ensure that its programs "do not run contrary to our nation's interests.' The administration also has tried several times to prevent the school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from hosting foreign students, and President Donald Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status. Last month, his administration issued a finding that Harvard tolerated antisemitism, a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard's federal funding, including student loans or grants. The penalty is typically referred to as a 'death sentence.' Harvard's president, Alan Garber, has said the university has made changes to combat antisemitism and will not submit to the administration's demands. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Harvard under investigation over participation in visa program for foreign students and researchers
BOSTON (AP) — In the latest in series of Trump administration inquiries targeting Harvard University, the State Department said Wednesday it is investigating whether the Ivy League school will remain part of a government program that provides American visas for students and researchers from other countries. Harvard has faced mounting sanctions and scrutiny from Washington since rejecting demands from a federal antisemitism task force in April. Harvard has filed a lawsuit challenging $2.6 billion in federal cuts and has accused the Republican administration of waging a retaliation campaign. The statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not say why his department was examining Harvard's eligibility to take part in the Exchange Visitor Program, which allows foreign nationals to study or work in the United States through cultural and education exchange programs. It said all sponsors, such as Harvard, 'are required to fully comply with exchange visitor regulations, transparency in reporting, and a demonstrated commitment to fostering the principles of cultural exchange and mutual understanding upon which the program was founded.' A spokesman for Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The department said the investigation will seek to ensure that its programs 'do not run contrary to our nation's interests.' The administration also has tried several times to prevent the school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from hosting foreign students, and President Donald Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status. Last month, his administration issued a finding that Harvard tolerated antisemitism, a step that could jeopardize all of Harvard's federal funding, including student loans or grants. The penalty is typically referred to as a 'death sentence.' Harvard's president, Alan Garber, has said the university has made changes to combat antisemitism and will not submit to the administration's demands. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
