Trump’s push for transparency rattles colleges that fear judgement about who they admit

President Donald Trump’s push for transparency in college admissions has some worried how the information will be used.

On Thursday, Trump signed a memo that will require higher education facilities to create an admissions information database that is accessible by both students and parents. It will also require the colleges to make more information available to the Department of Education and its secretary, Linda McMahon.

This info will do a lot to reveal how these universities are selecting students for admission, but advocates worry that Trump will also use it to target schools he believes have unfair or unfavorable admissions data.

The move comes amid suspicion that some colleges are attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that race cannot be one of the factors considered on a student’s application. It is believed that some of the most left-leaning establishments are utilizing loopholes to continue recruiting students by race.

“American students and taxpayers deserve confidence in the fairness and integrity of our Nation’s institutions of higher education, including confidence that they are recruiting and training capable future doctors, engineers, scientists, and other critical workers vital to the next generations of American prosperity. Race-based admissions practices are not only unfair, but also threaten our national security and well-being,” the order states.

“I’ll say lots of folks in the space, researchers and think tanks alike, have wanted more transparency on the black box that is college admissions. So, I think that from that perspective, lots of folks would be interested in seeing this data. What I question with this administration is the intention around the collection of the data,” EdTrust Senior Vice President Wil Del Pilar said.

“I think that — that information — institutions have guarded that because they don’t want narratives around them being closed to access for certain populations of students due to increased numbers of denied students. They don’t want that narrative out,” he added.

Any college that receives taxpayer funds is expected to share much of this information with the federal government already, including “enrollment numbers and graduation rates,” according to The Hill.

“However, admissions data has largely been kept under wraps for various reasons,” the report continues. “One reason is due to the complexities of compiling the data into an accurate spreadsheet. College admissions offices consider not only GPA and test scores, but extracurricular activities and personal essays that are hard to quantify.”

“Universities may also fear what the public will think regarding whom they do and do not admit.”

“I think one of the things that people are going to see is the amount of legacy admissions that have been taking place for a long, long time, and those admissions are typically white people,” revealed Executive Director for Rutgers University’s Center for Minority Serving Institutions Marybeth Gasman.

Writer/Columnist

Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to BizPac Review.

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