The Department of Education’s sudden Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) directive is forcing roughly 2,200 colleges to compile seven years of granular admissions data by March 18, officials and institutional researchers say. John Brown University’s lone institutional researcher reported spending 20 hours extracting legacy records as small campuses scramble to comply. The collection requires breakdowns by race, sex, test scores and family income, and institutions face fines or loss of federal aid for noncompliance. University registrars and institutional research offices warned the rushed timeline and technical complexity are straining staff capacity and legacy systems. Administrators and associations are pressing for clearer guidance and additional resources; failure to meet the deadline would have reputational and regulatory consequences for many smaller, resource-constrained colleges.