Major Updates

Justice Department Threatens College Funding Over DEI Policies; Administration Requests Detailed Admissions Data

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued guidance warning that colleges and other federally funded institutions could lose federal support if they continue certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. The DOJ’s new memo flags a sweeping range of campus diversity efforts as potential violations of federal law: from race-conscious scholarships or mentorship programs, to diversity statements in hiring, to allowing transgender women to use women’s campus facilities or having identity-based student lounges. It even suggests that ostensibly neutral strategies used to boost diversity (for example, recruiting in specific regions to reach more minority students) might be deemed unlawful if officials believe those criteria were chosen for demographic reasons. This stance represents a dramatic shift in civil-rights enforcement under President Trump, effectively targeting initiatives that were originally created to combat inequality on campus. College leaders are growing anxious that these broad edicts will force them to scale back DEI programs or risk losing critical funds, even as civil rights groups warn the administration’s approach poses an “existential threat” to long-fought anti-discrimination efforts.

In a related development, Education Secretary Linda McMahon directed colleges to hand over detailed admissions data to prove they are complying with the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action. This will require institutions to report their applicant, admitted, and enrolled student statistics disaggregated by race and sex, along with academic metrics like test scores and GPAs. Administration officials cast this as a push for fairness in college admissions, pledging to ensure a return to meritocracy in higher education. However, many in higher education are alarmed at how this data could be used. Advocates point out that the directive doesn’t spell out how schools will be judged or punished, leaving significant room for political influence. Critics argue the policy shines a spotlight on programs meant to uplift underrepresented students while ignoring admissions advantages often afforded to privileged groups (like legacy preferences), a dynamic they fear will “tilt the field” against students of color and ultimately threaten campus diversity.

UPCEA member institutions are encouraged to review marketing and enrollment as well as admissions practices in light of these developments. 

Trump Administration Report | America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age

The Trump Administration has unveiled a sweeping workforce development blueprint titled America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age. Drafted by the Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Education, this plan centers on five pillars: Industry-Driven Strategies, Worker Mobility, Integrated Systems, Accountability, and Flexibility & Innovation. All pillars are aimed at refocusing education and job training to meet industry needs in a rapidly changing economy. It calls for significantly expanding employer-led training initiatives like apprenticeships (with a goal of over one million active apprentices) and introducing career exploration as early as middle school, while channeling federal resources into critical sectors such as advanced manufacturing, energy, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence. The strategy also seeks to draw more Americans into the workforce by removing barriers to employment. For example, easing onerous occupational licensing rules, improving access to childcare and transportation, and even supporting new “Workforce Pell” grants to help students afford short-term credential programs that lead directly to in-demand jobs. Finally, the plan promises to hold workforce programs accountable for results by tying federal funding to measurable outcomes like job placement rates and earnings gains, and it aims to streamline a number of federal training programs by consolidating efforts under the Department of Labor’s leadership. Institutions may welcome the stated goal of workforce investment, but they also may face pressure to rapidly adapt programs and demonstrate outcomes, amidst smaller support via federal financial aid – and underperforming initiatives could see funding cut or redirected under this outcome-driven approach. Read the report.

Other News

• Are States Prepared for Workforce Pell? (Inside Higher Ed)

• What Do OBBBA’s Tighter Borrowing Limits Mean for Students? (Jobs for the Future)
   
• Justice Department won’t defend grants for Hispanic-serving colleges, calling them unconstitutional (AP)

• Nicholas Kent Sworn in as 15th Under Secretary of Education (Inside Higher Ed)

• Higher Education Litigation Summary – August 21st Edition (Thompson Coburn LLP)

• Senate Appropriators Reject Trump’s Deep Education Cuts (Inside Higher Ed)