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The MERIT Act amends federal higher education accreditation standards to require colleges and universities to adopt admissions practices that do not give preferential treatment to applicants based on their family connections to alumni or donors. The bill defines preferential treatment as making an admissions decision where alumni or donor relationships serve as the deciding factor, while creating exceptions that allow institutions to consider demonstrated interest in the school and preserve religious schools' ability to use faith-based values in admissions decisions. The legislation requires the Secretary of Education to report to Congress every two years on compliance efforts, technical assistance, and monitoring, with reports made public. Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Education to conduct a feasibility study within two years to explore whether the National Student Clearinghouse could collect and analyze institution-level data on how often colleges admit legacy and donor-affiliated applicants, while ensuring donor confidentiality and protecting personally identifiable information. This legislation affects all accredited colleges and universities and aims to increase transparency about how these institutions use alumni and donor connections in their admissions processes.

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