Donald Trump has signed an executive action compelling colleges and universities to provide data proving they do not consider race in admissions, intensifying the White House's scrutiny of higher education institutions receiving federal funding.
The presidential memorandum accuses institutions of using personal statements and other proxies to factor in race, despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that reversed affirmative action. It states that the 'persistent lack of available data' and the 'rampant use of diversity statements and other overt and hidden racial proxies' raise concerns about whether race is still being used in practice.
The action directs the education secretary, Linda McMahon, to require higher education institutions to submit the data necessary to verify that their admissions do not involve unlawful discrimination. McMahon is tasked with overhauling the US higher education database, expanding the scope of admissions reporting and increasing accuracy checks to provide greater transparency.
The 2023 Supreme Court ruling had already banned affirmative action in admissions, though it allowed colleges to consider how race has shaped an applicant's life if the student raises it in essays. Conservative activists welcomed the ruling, while critics argued that race-conscious policies create more equal opportunities for students from marginalised groups, including those disadvantaged by historical discrimination.
Thursday's action appears to codify for all universities the settlement agreements the administration reached with Brown and Columbia universities, which restored federal research funding in return for those institutions releasing admissions data and demonstrating that hiring and admissions are 'merit-based' and not based on diversity or race. Both universities agreed to provide data on the race, grade point average and standardised test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students, and to submit to government audits and publish admissions statistics.
