WASHINGTON — As the fallout from a recently exposed college admissions scandal continues, another branch of the federal government is now stepping in. opening a preliminary investigation into the scandal rocking the nation’s top schools.

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After the Justice Department uncovered a sweeping criminal conspiracy that alleged wealthy parents gamed the college admissions process to get their children into the country’s top schools, the Department of Education is taking a closer look.

The massive cheating and bribery scheme could also open the door for Congress to consider new ways to address flaws in the college admissions process, which is now taking center stage in upcoming hearings and legislation.

“The day after this was announced, every college President in the country, I can assure you, called their admissions officer and called their athletic department director and said, 'what are we doing and could this happen here?'” said Rep. Donna Shalala (D — 27th District).

Shalala would know — she’s a three-time college president with deep roots in higher education. She served as president of Hunter College of the City University of New York, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison and president of the University of Miami.

“The truth is that admissions is more of an art than a science," Shalala explained. "In some institutions that I’ve led, like the University of Wisconsin at Madison, there is very little interference in admissions, except there’s some flexibility in athletics."

Now, she wants Congress to play a role, looking closer at the role of wealth in college admissions.

“This hits at the integrity of higher education," she said. "We need to move quickly to close whatever doors were used in these cases."

Only two of the eight institutions that federal prosecutors say were targeted by the scam are public schools, funded in part by taxpayer dollars. The rest are private universities.

“I don’t know if the Education Department has jurisdiction, they are trying to figure out if it's related to some financial aid they are giving," Shalala said. "My guess is they don’t have much jurisdiction, but universities have to police themselves, and this is one more loophole that needs to be closed."

Shalala is hosting a panel discussion this week to examine the admission process at different types of institutions. She said she hopes it is the first of many hearings that addresses the root of the scandal. 

However, the National Republican Congressional Committee is pointing out Shalala was dealing with scandals herself while at the helm of the University of Miami. Two sports programs were investigated for NCAA rules violations, which led to the suspension of 13 players and the school’s athletics programs were placed on three years of probation.