White House Directs Education Department to Collect New College Admissions Data
White House Directs Education Department to Collect New College Admissions Data
 
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August 2025

NCES Ordered to Collect New Data Indicators Through IPEDS

On August 7, President Trump issued an executive memorandum directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to expand the data collected on college admissions. The memorandum, Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions, calls for the expansion of data in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), an administrative data collection managed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

In a directive to NCES, McMahon stated that institutions would be required to report data disaggregated by race and sex on their undergraduate applicant pool, admitted cohort, and enrolled students, as well as for certain graduate and professional programs. New indicators would include applicants’ and admitted students’ academic qualifications—such as standardized test scores, GPAs, and other characteristics. NCES would also be required to conduct audits to ensure the accuracy and consistency of reported data.

According to the Education Department, the memorandum is intended to “ensure race-based preferences are not used in university admissions processes.” The administration has pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and to what it sees as gaps in data need to comply with Title IV of the Civil Rights Act.

“The additional data collection that would be required for IPEDS under this directive requires expertise that is no longer in place due to the dismantling of NCES’s staff earlier this year,” said AERA Executive Director Tabbye M. Chavous. “To ensure accurate and reliable data, the Education Department needs to onboard NCES staff who can provide technical expertise to ensure the quality of data that are submitted to, and reported from, IPEDS.”

The memorandum calls for the expanded data indicators to be implemented beginning with the 2025–26 school year. The Department of Education has submitted the proposed changes to the White House Office of Management and Budget and has opened a 60-day public comment period in the Federal Register. Comments are due October 15.