EDITORS' CORNER
President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum directing the U.S. Education Secretary to require colleges and universities to be more transparent about their admissions practices and data.
The memorandum, published Thursday, aims to force administrators to fully comply with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that outlawed affirmative action and race-based admissions policies.
As a result of the directive, universities must submit detailed admissions data, including race, gender, standardized test scores, and GPAs of applicants, as well as admitted and enrolled students, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated the new data “will allow Americans to ensure race-based preferences are not used in university admissions processes.”
“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 stated in a news release.
The memorandum states that although “the Supreme Court of the United States has definitively held that consideration of race in higher education admissions violates students’ civil rights, 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.”
“Greater transparency is essential to exposing unlawful practices and ultimately ridding society of shameful, dangerous racial hierarchies.”
It instructs the secretary to overhaul the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS, to better track the data and identify noncompliant institutions. Consequences could include penalties, such as loss of federal funding, if universities fail to comply.
The Washington Examiner reported that the financial threat is compelling and helping Trump advance his agenda.
“Nearly all accredited universities in the United States, including private colleges, receive federal funding from the federal government, a fact that Trump is using to his advantage as he seeks changes in the higher education sector,” the Examiner reported.
The latest order “follows previous executive orders attempting to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on university campuses, suspend the entry of foreign nationals to exchange programs at Harvard University, and prevent biological men from playing in women’s sports,” according to the outlet.
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IMAGE: A desk with an ‘admissions’ placard on it / Dream Studio, Shutterstock
