Demands for Data on Race and the Future of College Admissions
Description
dotEDU is back for Season 7 with an examination of President Trump's demand for admissions data by race and sex and what that means for campuses. Hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Jon Fansmith, and Sarah Spreitzer—joined by ACE’s Hiro Okahana—explain what’s being requested, what’s lawful, and the need to avoid misleading metrics and protect student privacy. Plus: updates on international students, Harvard’s funding-freeze case, and the outlook on appropriations for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show:
Trump Memo on Admissions Data
Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admission
The White House | August 7, 2025
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon Directs National Center for Education Statistics to Collect Universities’ Data on Race Discrimination in Admissions
U.S Department of Education | August 7, 2025
Trump Administration Orders Colleges to Submit New Admissions Data
ACE | August 11, 2025
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
IPEDS
Inaccurate, impossible: Experts knock new Trump plan to collect college admissions data
The Hechinger Report | August 18, 2025
Trump’s college admissions changes could backfire
Politico | August 15, 2025
Higher Education & The Trump Administration
ACE
International Students
DHS Proposal to Replace Duration of Status
NAFSA | September 9, 2025
Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media
Federal Register | August 28, 2025
Letter to Secretary Rubio Urging Exemption of F/J/M Visas from Travel Ban (PDF)
ACE
Harvard Ruling
Federal Court Backs Harvard in Ruling, Echoing Concerns Raised in ACE Brief
ACE | September 5, 2025
FY 2026 Appropriations
House Bill Preserves Pell, Slashes Other Student Aid Programs
ACE | September 5, 2025
Senate Appropriators Reject Trump’s Proposed Pell Grant and NIH Cuts
ACE | August 4, 2025
A Brief Guide to the Federal Budget and Appropriations Process
ACE
United States
