Washington Update

U.S. District Court for Massachusetts Freezes IPEDS ACTS Collection  
The U.S. District Court for Massachusetts granted a temporary restraining order on the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) IPEDS Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) data collection “in order to permit a hearing and orderly resolution of the issues.” As such, the deadline to complete the survey is extended through March 25, 2026. These new reporting requirements, which were finalized by ED in December, would require institutions to report detailed admissions and enrollment metrics—many of which are not currently collected through IPEDS. 

The case in the district court was brought by a coalition of 17 state attorneys general, led by Massachusetts and including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington.    

While the temporary restraining order did not explicitly limit the relief to just within plaintiff states, there was some ambiguity given the precedent of Trump v. CASA, a SCOTUS decision which limited the scope of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions. APLU understands that the IPEDS Help Desk has thus far applied the extension to institutions within both plaintiff and non-plaintiff states. 

The Big Picture: While the district court granted a one week extension, the Association for Institutional Research confirmed with the leadership of the Institute of Education Sciences conditions in which institutions may request and receive an extension until April 8. 

APLU previously requested an extension of the reporting deadline from March 18 to June 18. APLU also previously submitted a comment letter that offers recommendations to strengthen the quality and useability of data collected, both which are challenged under the Department’s deadlines.  

The temporary restraining order will not be the last word from the district court as the case proceeds. 

GAO Report Finds U.S. Department of Education Stopped Monitoring Student Loan Servicers, Citing Reduced Staff Capacity 
On March 11, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that reviews ED’s capacity to perform its statutory responsibilities, finding gaps in oversight of federal student loan servicers.  
 
ED’s Office of Federal Student Aid manages federal student aid programs and contracts with five loan servicers to handle borrower billing, records, and communications. GAO found that four of the five servicers did not meet the department’s performance standards for maintaining accurate records and were assessed about $850,000 in financial penalties. 
 
Go Deeper: GAO reported that in February 2025 the Office of Federal Student Aid stopped assessing servicers on record accuracy and call quality, citing reduced staff capacity. GAO recommended that the Department resume these evaluations to help ensure the accuracy of borrower records and communications. 
 
GAO notes that “additional reports will examine related topics at other offices within Education.” A related press release from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) confirmed with more specificity that GAO accepted a request led by Senator Warren to investigate interagency agreements that transferred the management of Department of Education programs to other federal agencies.  

Report of Interest: United for Medical Research Economic Report on NIH Impacts 
United for Medical Research (UMR), an NIH funding coalition of which APLU is a member, released its annual economic report last week. The report examines how NIH research contributes to economic activity in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. UMR’s new release analyzes fiscal year 2025 data, finding $36.58 billion in research grant funding supported 390,863 jobs and produced $94.15 billion in new economic activity nationwide in 2025. For every $1 invested in NIH research, $2.57 was generated in economic activity, a 250% return on investment. 

APLU Joins Student Aid Alliance Letter on FY27 Appropriations Priorities 
On March 13, APLU Joined the Student Aid Alliance in sending a letter to Labor-HHS-ED appropriations leadership in the House and Senate urging Congress protect and maintain funding for federal student aid in FY27.  

The letter highlights the longstanding bipartisan support for student aid and shares request levels for the Pell Grant, campus based-aid, Federal TRIO Programs, Gaining Early Awareness in Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), and Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN). 

The letter elevates concerns with the Pell Grant shortfall, projected to be $17 billion in FY27. The Student Aid Alliance letter requests “that Congress should provide the necessary resources to fully fund the shortfall and place the Pell Grant program on a sustainable path moving forward.”