Fewer Colleges Publicized Racial Demographic Data This Year

"Last fall, a slew of highly selective institutions released incoming class data showing the impacts of the first admissions cycles since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action. The data varied wildly from institution to institution; many experienced precipitous drops in the percentage of Black and Hispanic students in their freshman classes, but others saw much slighter drops or even small increases."

"But this year, institutions aren't being as forthcoming about their data, according to James Murphy, director of career pathways and postsecondary policy at Education Reform Now, a nonprofit education think tank. Murphy tracked demographic data from 39 selective institutions last fall and planned to do the same this year, only to find that many institutions had yet to publicly release the information this semester."

""The fact that so many places have not shared data is unsurprising, understandable and still disappointing. It's unsurprising because last year, some colleges got some probably unwanted attention" for declines in the enrollment of Hispanic and Black students, Murphy said. In the year since admissions demographic data drove headlines, Donald Trump returned to the White House and has cracked down on a wide range of race-based programs and activities."

Last fall, many highly selective institutions released incoming-class demographic data revealing the first admissions cycles after the Supreme Court banned affirmative action. The data varied widely; many institutions experienced sharp declines in the percentages of Black and Hispanic freshmen while others showed smaller drops or modest increases. This year, far fewer institutions have publicly shared disaggregated race data. James Murphy tracked disaggregated race data at 16 institutions as of Oct. 16, down from 34 on the same date in 2024. Reduced transparency has been attributed to unwanted attention, while the federal administration has intensified scrutiny of race-aware policies.

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