Overview

• Trump’s August 7 memorandum demands all federally funded colleges submit detailed admissions data broken down by race and academic performance.
• It instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to revamp the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System for broader data collection and easier public access.
• The order calls for heightened accuracy checks on submissions and authorizes remedial actions, including potential funding cuts, for late or incomplete data.
• Recent settlements with Brown and Columbia universities required similar disclosures in exchange for restoration of federal research funding.
• The directive builds on the administration’s broader campaign to dismantle DEI initiatives and enforce the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on race-based admissions.