{"id":5167,"date":"2025-08-15T09:49:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T13:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/?p=5167"},"modified":"2025-08-15T10:31:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:31:56","slug":"advocacy-update-august-15-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2025\/08\/15\/advocacy-update-august-15-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocacy Update – August 15, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sean Robins, NACAC’s director of advocacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome to the second issue of the Advocacy Update on NACAC\u2019s Admitted blog. We remain energized by the positive feedback from our first issue and are excited to continue providing members with timely insights on federal policy, legislative developments, and NACAC\u2019s ongoing advocacy efforts. In a rapidly shifting landscape for higher education, our goal is to equip you with clear, actionable information that reflects both the challenges we face and the steadfast work underway to protect equity, access, and opportunity in college admission counseling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Policy & Legislative Updates<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trump administration issued a <\/span>Presidential Memorandum<\/span><\/a> directing the Department of Education to require colleges to report racially disaggregated admission data for applicants, admitted students, and enrollees starting in 2025\u201326. The changes will apply to undergraduate and certain graduate and professional programs. While framed as an effort to improve transparency, the move comes amid heightened scrutiny of race-conscious policies in admission, and NACAC continues to defend the role of holistic review and personal lived experience. The Education Department said the Presidential Memo, <\/span>published Aug. 15<\/span><\/a>, requires selective four-year colleges to report five years of detailed, racially disaggregated admission data \u2014 including GPA, test scores, timing of application, and financial aid status \u2014 with a 60-day public comment period to follow. Concerns remain about how the department will handle and analyze this data given staffing cuts at the National Center for Education Statistics.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The administration has retreated from its threat to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll international students, a move the university called unconstitutional and retaliatory. The <\/span>Department of Homeland Security<\/span><\/a> said it will not proceed based on the <\/span>original letter<\/span><\/a>, though legal disputes remain. Separately, the administration is <\/span>demanding over $1 billion from UCLA<\/span><\/a> to unfreeze $584 million in research funds, as well as broad conditions banning race-based scholarships, gender-affirming care, and overnight protests, among other restrictions. A <\/span>federal judge<\/span><\/a> has ordered partial restoration of certain National Science Foundation grants to UCLA, ruling that \u201csuspensions\u201d violate an earlier order barring terminations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed to fight the settlement demands, calling them an attack on academic freedom.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In other legal developments, the Trump administration has issued an <\/span>executive order<\/span><\/a> requiring political appointees to review all federal grant opportunities before publication, pausing new announcements and banning funding for projects tied to racial equity, gender identity, immigration, and other so-called \u201canti-American values.\u201d Courts have previously blocked similar efforts, but the new directive intensifies political oversight of research funding. A <\/span>divided Fourth Circuit panel<\/span><\/a> has also allowed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to access sensitive federal records, citing the agency\u2019s IT modernization role.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>new antitrust lawsuit<\/span><\/a> was filed against 32 selective institutions, the Common Application, Scoir, and the Consortium on Financing Higher Education regarding early-decision admission policies. Plaintiffs allege that sharing names of early-decision admits suppresses competition and limits students\u2019 ability to compare aid offers. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The administration is also increasing scrutiny of geographic recruitment practices in admission, warning colleges that targeting areas based on racial or ethnic composition could be considered unlawful proxies for race. <\/span>NACAC has emphasized that geographic outreach<\/span><\/a> is shaped by multiple factors, including serving historic communities and responding to demographic shifts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other notable developments include:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n