ACTS Targets Selective Institutions: What Counsel and Admissions Need to Know

Quick Hits

• The U.S. Department of Education’s updated IPEDS data collection proposal clarifies that ACTS would only apply to selective four-year institutions.
• Institutions that both admit 100 percent of applicants and award no non-need-based aid in a given collection year would be exempt from the data collection for that year.
• The Education Department underscores the ACT’s purpose to identify race-based preferencing in admissions and non-need-based aid practices, signaling potential risk-based Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 scrutiny.
• Public comments are due December 15, 2025.

The Education Department’s notice proposes that ACTS would apply to four-year selective institutions and explicitly exempt otherwise eligible institutions that both admit 100 percent of applicants and do not award non‑need‑based aid for a given collection year. The changes stem from the public response to the Education Department’s Direct Questions in the prior sixty-day notice associated with the ACTS supplement, issued in August 2025. Comments on that proposal closed October 14, 2025.

The Education Department reiterated that ACTS is intended to collect information indicating whether institutions “are using race‑based preferencing in admissions,” citing the August 7, 2025, presidential memorandum directing expansion of required IPEDS reporting and the Education Department secretary’s same‑day directive to initiate changes in the 2025–26 school year.

Selective institutions—and competitive graduate and professional programs within broader institutions—should anticipate heightened transparency expectations around admissions and scholarship practices, potential risk‑based Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reviews tied to the proposed data requirements, and closer scrutiny of non‑need‑based aid. The Education Department’s rationale references recent directives, including the August 7, 2025, presidential memorandum and the secretary’s same‑day directive to initiate changes in the 2025–26 school year, reinforcing the enforcement‑oriented posture of the proposal.

Next Steps

Selective four-year institutions should anticipate continued emphasis on admissions and scholarship transparency, potential risk‑based Title VI reviews anchored in the proposed new data requirements, and closer scrutiny of non‑need‑based aid practices. Institutions that have mapped data availability, implemented privacy controls, clarified program-level selectivity, and conducted privileged review of admissions and aid data across the reporting periods will be better prepared to adjust to whatever ACTS ultimately requires and to withstand heightened Education Department scrutiny of admissions and scholarship practices.

Ogletree Deakins’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance, Government Contracting and Reporting, Higher Education, and Workforce Analytics and Compliance practice groups will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance, Employment Law, Government Contracting and Reporting, Higher Education, and Workforce Analytics and Compliance blogs as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ Administration Resource Hub.

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