Education Department Considers ACTS Extension  

The Department of Education may grant institutions a conditional three-week extension to submit admissions data through the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey. 

ACTS is a new data collection within the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) that requires colleges to report more detailed information on applicants and enrollees to increase transparency in the admissions process. 

According to the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), the Department is considering moving the reporting deadline for institutions that meet certain conditions from March 18 to April 8, 2026. 

To qualify for the extension, institutions must meet two key requirements by the March 18 IPEDS keyholder deadline: 1) complete ACTS screening questions for all seven reporting years; and 2) upload data for at least three ACTS reporting years. Institutions that meet these conditions can request the three-week extension by contacting the IPEDS help desk before March 18. 

This week NAICU sent a letter to the Acting Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics requesting an extension to the submission deadline for institutions to complete the survey to June 18. 

Institutions have noted that they are facing significant challenges completing the new reporting requirements. A February 2026 survey by AIR found that most institutions were still preparing their submissions, and many expressed concern about meeting the March deadline with accurate data. Respondents cited issues with retroactive data, competing reporting requirements, evolving guidance, and technical updates as factors slowing progress. 

Meanwhile, a group of seventeen Democratic Attorneys General filed a lawsuit this week challenging the legality of the IPEDS ACTS collection. Citing the aggressive timeline, compliance challenges, and burden on both states and institutions, the lawsuit alleges that the Department exceeded its statutory authority and violated procedure when issuing the new requirements. Unless the court issues an injunction, the official reporting deadline for institutions to submit IPEDS ACTS data remains March 18, absent the aforementioned possibility of case-by-case institutional extensions.