August 8, 2025
Trump is demanding more admissions data from colleges to further crack down on DEI efforts.
Donald Trump is continuing to target diversity efforts with a new rule requiring colleges to report more admissions data to investigate race-based selections.
On Aug. 7, Trump signed a presidential memorandum that requires colleges and universities to provide expanded admissions data to the U.S. Department of Education, NPR reports. This move is the administration’s latest effort to determine if schools continue to consider race in admissions despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on affirmative action.
“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,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “The Trump Administration will ensure that meritocracy and excellence once again characterize American higher education.”
Colleges and universities participating in the federal student loan program have long been required to submit data on enrollment, graduation rates, and financial aid. However, the new memo demands more detailed reporting—not only on enrolled students but also on all applicants.
The administration believes this expanded data will help identify schools that may still prioritize race over academic merit in admissions. According to the memo, “the shortage of admissions data from universities—combined with widespread use of ‘diversity statements’ and other overt and subtle racial proxies—raises ongoing concerns about whether race is still influencing admissions decisions in practice.”
Trump’s directive arrives more than two years after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action programs at the University of North Carolina and Harvard, ruling that using race in admissions violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. Conservative activists hailed the rulings as a major win, arguing that such policies discriminated against white and Asian students. Critics, however, maintain that race-conscious admissions helped marginalized communities address historical disparities in higher education.
This memo marks the latest move in Trump’s ongoing campaign against DEI efforts, following his return to the White House and a series of executive orders banning federal agencies from partnering with companies that support inclusion initiatives deemed discriminatory by Trump and conservatives.
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