UMKC is working to fulfill new, detailed student data requests from the Department of Education

  Uncertainty remains as higher education institutions across the country, including UMKC, are complying with new, in-depth student data requests from the Department of Education. 

  An August 2025 memorandum by President Trump, followed by a request from Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, demanded that schools release more detailed admissions data. The Trump administration is looking to determine if affirmative action procedures that were banned in 2023 are still being implemented.

  UMKC has confirmed it is working to meet these requests.

  “The university is gathering the data necessary to comply with the new reporting requirements,” said UMKC assistant director of strategic communications Alyssa Lally.

 There is no information regarding what exactly will be done with this data.

   “The biggest blind spot is that we don’t know what the Department of Education has in store with this data that they’re collecting,” said Kat Ramkumar, a higher education reporter at KBIA. 

  “If this is allowed to happen now, I don’t know what sort of precedent it sets for future data collections, but this is already so intrusive and massive, so by knowing this is happening, I think it can help mobilize stuff for the future,” said Ramkumar.

  While it is routine for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to collect information about admissions and enrollment demographics, more details, including race, gender, family income, high school GPA and more have not been requested until now.

  “It’s also especially concerning this year because they only gave universities around three months to do it, and that’s just such a massive data load for universities who usually have like two to three person student data enrollment departments to collect all that data accurately,” said Ramkumar.

  There are concerns that with the March 18 deadline, the volume of the data and “discrepancies that are going to arise from this collection, inaccurate claims will be made.”

  “A lot of experts are worried that by seeing all this data at face value, the Department of Education is going to come to some conclusions that aren’t accurate and that might impact future admissions practices with admitting students of color and presenting scholarship and fellowship opportunities based on, again, what the data shows,” said Ramkumar.

  If institutions do not comply, eligibility for Title IV federal aid, which provides schools with financial assistance for students, will be revoked.

  Roo News did not receive an answer regarding how UMKC will be affected if the deadline is not met, but it is possible that schools could face fines.

  After the banning of affirmative action practices, the number of students of color at top universities dropped, leading to a likely increase in enrollment at local or state universities.

  “Obviously, we don’t know how that’s going to be interpreted by the Department of Education, and there’s been no communication between them and the universities, so that’s just been a big concern for universities across the country,” said Ramkumar. 

  Many students are unaware of these collections, and Ramkumar said it is “something that nobody saw coming.”

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