In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of race in college admissions was unconstitutional in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. Following that decision, on Aug. 7 of this year, President Trump signed the presidential memorandum “Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions”, requiring colleges to release applicant data by race to the federal government. This action, which is designed to enforce the Supreme Court ruling, raises questions about the use of diversity statements and other alleged proxies for race-based treatment in the admissions process.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is implementing the Trump administration’s agenda by expanding the collection of applicant data to include race. The department will then combine that data with gender, test scores, first-generation college student status and other education-related metrics. This data will be gathered through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) — an annual series of surveys administered by the National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS is the college-focused branch of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The IES is an independent, nonpartisan government organization that collects statistics for all levels of education in the country, and has been collecting data since 2002. Although RIT is a private university, it is required to comply with the 2023 ruling and related data collection policies because it receives federal funding.
IPEDS already collects data on admissions statistics from universities; however, it only breaks down the data by gender, not race. IPEDS current statistics on applicants include how many are accepted, if students are full or part-time, and how many students choose to enroll. IPEDS currently does not have data for enrollment from 2024, and RIT does not release applicant data outside of IPEDS.
In a previous statement, then RIT President Munson claimed that the court ruling would not affect their admissions and that the university would continue to follow its strategic plan, setting goals to become the school with the most graduating women, minority men and Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in STEM. In light of these ambitious goals, it is unclear how RIT will proceed in a manner that also appeases the Trump administration.
According to former RIT President Munson, race was not a factor in RIT admissions even before 2023. Munson noted that RIT considers income status and school quality when accepting students; however, these considerations are made independently of race. RIT’s diversity statement also notes the implementation of policies that “is consistent with [their] commitment to diversity and is in compliance with federal, state and local laws “, signaling compliance with recent federal government policy.
In terms of RIT’s history with admissions, the school first opened its night classes to women in 1942 and became the home campus for NTID in 1966. The school has had Black students on campus from at least the early 1900s, with Fredricka Sprague, the granddaughter of Fredrick Douglass, taking classes in 1906.
The US Department of Education is currently tasked with enforcing this requirement. According to a February 2025 document, schools are banned from using racial proxies — such as guessing students’ race from personal essays or eliminating standardized testing — as a role in admissions. This letter also mentions DEI initiatives as racial discrimination and encourages schools to remove these so-called proxies from admissions consideration. The letter implies that schools that do not comply will lose federal funding. Insofar, no school seems to have lost the funding due to noncompliance with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, however, there have been some schools, such as MIT, that have seen the diversity of their student population drop since the ruling (MIT News, Q&A Undergraduate admissions in the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling).
While it is too early to determine if the memorandum will have any lasting consequences, at least for the near future, RIT will continue to pursue its diversity goals while attempting to comply with federal laws.
