Tell Congress: Extend the ACTS-IPEDS Deadline

Institutions across the country are working to comply with the new Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) added to IPEDS — an unprecedented expansion of federal data reporting requirements. With evolving guidance, complex technical demands, and significant staffing strain, many campuses have raised concerns about their ability to submit accurate and complete data.

Originally due on March 18, the ACTS reporting deadline has shifted multiple times amid ongoing litigation. A federal lawsuit filed by 17 states challenged the legality and implementation of ACTS, prompting a temporary restraining order that first extended the deadline to March 25 for all institutions. More recently, the Department of Education extended the deadline to March 31 for institutions not covered by the lawsuit, while a federal court has allowed public institutions in the 17 plaintiff states until April 6 to comply.

While these short-term extensions provide limited relief, they have also introduced additional complexity and inconsistency into an already challenging implementation process—raising serious concerns about data quality, comparability, and institutional capacity.

We are asking you to contact your members of Congress and urge them to support a 90-day extension of the ACTS reporting deadline to June 18, 2026. A reasonable extension will help protect data quality, reduce compliance risk, and ensure Congress receives reliable information to inform policy decisions.

Learn more about ACTS through this one-page resource.

Dear [Lawmaker],

As someone who works with students and families each day, I want to share concerns about the reporting timeline for the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS), recently implemented within the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). While transparency and accountability in higher education are important, the current March 18, 2026 deadline does not provide institutions adequate time to ensure data accuracy and integrity.

ACTS represents a significant expansion of federal reporting requirements. Approximately 2,200 selective four-year institutions must submit seven academic years (2019–2026) of highly detailed, disaggregated data on applications, admissions, enrollment, and financial aid. Required elements include race-sex pairings; GPA and test score quintiles; family income ranges; Pell eligibility; parental education; application round; and additional characteristics. Graduate and professional data must also be reported by field of study.

For additional context on the ACTS reporting requirements and the challenges institutions are experiencing, I encourage you and your staff to review this brief resource outlining key implementation considerations:

https://www.nacacnet.org/wp-content/uploads/ACTS-One-Pager_2026.03.pdf

For many campuses, this requires pulling data from multiple systems that were not designed to interact in this way.

Originally due on March 18, 2026, the ACTS reporting deadline has shifted multiple times amid ongoing litigation and administrative adjustments. A federal lawsuit filed by 17 states challenged the legality and implementation of ACTS, prompting a temporary restraining order that extended the deadline to March 25. The U.S. Department of Education has since extended the deadline to March 31 for most institutions, while public institutions in the 17 plaintiff states have until April 6 to comply under the court’s order. While these short-term extensions provide limited relief, they have also introduced additional complexity and inconsistency into an already challenging implementation process.

Recent survey data from the Association for Institutional Research reflects the strain institutions are experiencing:

• 71% of respondents reported moderate or major concerns about data availability across systems.

• 59% were concerned about their ability to submit accurate data by the current deadline.

• 87% identified a deadline extension as the most helpful support at this stage.

In addition, key aspects of ACTS implementation have evolved during the collection window. Templates have been revised, definitions clarified, and technical tools updated. Some of these changes improve the collection — including the decision to allow a blank value for the sex variable, which reduces forced reporting — but each update requires institutions to revisit files and rerun validation processes.

When guidance and technical systems are still stabilizing, compressed timelines increase the likelihood of inconsistent interpretation and avoidable errors. If the goal is credible, policy-relevant data, institutions need sufficient time to implement these requirements carefully.

Failure to submit IPEDS data, including ACTS, could result in administrative action affecting Title IV eligibility. Institutions are working diligently to comply, but many of the technical and timing challenges are outside their control.

I respectfully urge you to encourage the U.S. Department of Education to extend the ACTS submission deadline from March 18, 2026 to June 18, 2026. A 90-day extension would help ensure stronger data quality, reduce unnecessary compliance risk, and provide Congress with more reliable information.

Thank you for your attention to this issue and for your support of students and institutions in our state. I would welcome the opportunity to share additional perspective if helpful.

Sincerely,
______

Prefix

First Name

Last Name

Phone

Address

Zip