The following compliance alert was provided by Mickey Silberman, Esq. and Michelle Duncan, Esq. of Silberman Law PC.
Submission of Seven Years of Detailed Data Due by March 18, 2026
Data to be Used for Potential Discrimination Investigations
First, the good news – if you are not employed at a college or university, you need not read further. For those in higher education, please read on.
Last year, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) proposed major changes to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reporting that would significantly expand reporting obligations to include more detailed, disaggregated data on applicants for admission, admitted students, and enrollees through a new reporting tool, the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS).
For background, the NCES proposal came on the heels of a Presidential Memorandum and Fact Sheet directing the Secretary of Education to require colleges and universities to be transparent regarding their admissions practices in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that consideration of race in higher education admissions is unconstitutional.
On December 18, 2025, the Administration approved the new ACTS survey and it is now required as part of the IPEDS 2025-2026 data collection cycle. Many U.S. colleges and universities must submit detailed data for the last seven academic years by March 18, 2026. Some large university systems will have until April 1, 2026.
Highlights
- Objective: To identify unlawful practices that run afoul of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and recent Supreme Court case law
- Covered Institutions: Public, private for profit and private not-for-profit institutions that primarily award bachelor’s degrees or above
- Scope of reports: Detailed data on undergraduate and graduate applicants, admitted students, enrolled students, and completers for the last seven academic years
- Data Components: Race/ethnicity, sex (male/female only), admission status, admission type (i.e., early action, early decision, regular), standardized test scores, GPA, family income, Pell Grant eligibility, parental education, institutional aid, merit-based aid, other types of aid, graduation rates, and field of study
NCES and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) will use the expanded data to scrutinize whether colleges and universities are unlawfully favoring certain individuals based on race/ethnicity or sex in admission decisions.
What Should Colleges & Universities Do Now?
- Gather and vet current and historical data
- Assemble a taskforce of stakeholders such as institutional research, admissions, financial aid, and legal
- Consider conducting proactive, privileged statistical analyses on the data to assess risk and prepare for possible investigations
Have questions on how to prepare? Reach out to the Silberman Law PC team for assistance.
And be sure to join us for a 30-minute webinar as we provide essential insight into how your institution can comply with these new mandates before the fast-approaching deadlines, Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 1:30 pm ET. Register now!
About the Authors
Mickey Silberman
Founder & Managing Principal, Silberman Law PC
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For more than 30 years, Mickey has represented management in all areas of employment law, specializing in equal employment opportunity, artificial intelligence in the workplace, pay equity, and workplace inclusion.
Mickey is recognized as a national expert in the areas of pay equity and systemic pay discrimination. He works closely with clients and a team of statisticians to prepare pay equity analyses both on a proactive basis and also in response to EEOC and state enforcement agency pay investigations and private pay litigation. Mickey regularly defends employers against claims of systemic pay discrimination. He also advises clients on pay system design and administration to identify and address often subtle or hidden barriers to pay equity.
Mickey spends much of his time counseling employers on complex “real world” issues such as artificial intelligence and workplace inclusion. Mickey works closely with clients in the lawful design and successful inclusion programs.
In addition, Mickey helps clients integrate artificial intelligence in employment processes in a lawful and effective way. Mickey and his team conduct “bias audits” to ensure compliance with emerging state, federal and international AI laws.
For the firm’s government contractor clients, Mickey directs the preparation of EEO analyses to ensure employers can accurately certify legal compliance. And, he prepares required Affirmative Action Plans for covered veterans and individuals with disabilities.
Mickey is among the nation’s leading trainers on workplace law. He regularly presents training for the C-Suite, management, HR, and talent acquisition professionals.
He also is the Co-chair of the Institute for Workplace Equality, a national employer association. Through his role with the Institute, he meets with OFCCP, EEOC and other federal agency national leadership to present the employer community’s perspective on proposed laws and regulations and agency enforcement trends.
Mickey has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading Labor & Employment attorney in Colorado.
Michelle Duncan
Principal, Silberman Law PC
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Michelle Duncan is a Principal attorney with Silberman Law, PC. With over 25 years of employment law experience, Michelle is a strategic and pragmatic attorney who counsels employers on real-world compliance and risk mitigation. On a daily basis, Michelle helps employers tackle topics such as the use and validation of pre-employment tests, compliance with emerging artificial intelligence laws, how to evaluate and mitigate legal risks related to hiring, advancement and retention, and compliance with government contractor EEO obligations and reporting.
Michelle also routinely provides guidance to employers on their pay equity, pay transparency and pay reporting obligations and directs proactive EEO pay analyses for all types of employers including institutions of higher education.
Michelle is a sought-after speaker on topics including Artificial Intelligence, the use (and misuse) of statistics in employment discrimination matters, EEO pay analyses, and how to effectively manage audits or investigations by DOL agencies. Michelle has a unique ability to present complex topics in ways that appeal to a variety of audiences from hourly employees to the “C-suite.”
Michelle joined Silberman Law after 13 years as a partner at a national employment law firm. She began her legal career as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) where, over the course of nearly 14 years, she litigated some of DOL’s most complex cases. Michelle handled all aspects of litigation in federal court and before administrative tribunals related to the many laws enforced by DOL agencies. She also defended the DOL against claims of discrimination brought by federal employees before EEOC and the MSPB.
Michelle’s unique experience and background enables her to provide both strategic and practical advice to our clients.
THIS COLUMN IS MEANT TO ASSIST IN A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENT LAW AND PRACTICE RELATING TO OFCCP. IT IS NOT TO BE REGARDED AS LEGAL ADVICE. COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS WITH PARTICULAR QUESTIONS SHOULD SEEK ADVICE OF COUNSEL.
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