Another blow to DEI: Trump requires colleges to report race data on admissions to the government

Through a new memo, President Donald Trump instructed the Department of Education to collect information on the race and gender of applicants in college admissions processes, obliging all institutions receiving federal funds to cooperate with the government.

"President Trump is ending discriminatory practices that are illegal, strip opportunities and scholarships from hardworking students, and waste taxpayer dollars," the White House fact sheet reads. 

Various analysts have called the move Trump's latest blow against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at U.S. universities.

According to the Trump administration and its conservative allies, DEI policies, thought in principle to promote inclusion, have become highly discriminatory against white people, to the point that race, gender or economic status became central qualities within the analysis to accept admissions, often directly affecting better-qualified applicants in academic terms.

The new memo, precisely, seeks to evaluate whether universities continue to use DEI criteria, such as race, in their admissions screening system. If the answer is yes, the universities are exposed to potential sanctions. The memorandum also obliges universities to transmit accurate and complete data on admissions.

In fact, according to The New York Times, the memo instructs the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to raise the number of accuracy checks of data submitted by universities.

McMahon said these requirements "will ensure that meritocracy and excellence once again characterize higher education."

The move comes two years after the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that universities cannot consider an applicant's race in the admissions process. The ruling substantially changed the way institutions were to manage their selection processes, forcing them to seek student diversity through criteria other than race and beyond academic excellence.