Higher Ed: Educators & Administrators

This page is intended to be a resource for personnel that serve LGBTQ+ students in Higher Education. It is imperative for front line staff members, advisors, faculty members, deans and college presidents to have resources that are quickly available to assist in serving the needs of all students, sexual or gender identity, sexual orientation, or gender expression. According to The Postsecondary National Policy Institute, LGBTQ+ students in higher education still face significant challenges in the their college experience. PNPI notes the following important statistics facing the LGBTQ+ population:

  • Only 200 campuses have dedicated offices or resource center for LGBTQ students with paid members
  • 26% of all campuses prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation as of 2017
  • 347 institutions of higher education include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies as of 2017
  • LGBTQ men and women, on average, complete their degree and earn less than heterosexual men and women
      • Degree Completion
        • Heterosexual women 34% vs LGBTQ women 25%
        • Heterosexual men are twice as likely to complete their degree compared to LGBTQ men
      • Earnings (as of 2015) LGBTQ vs heterosexual:
        • Women: $45,606 vs. $51,461
        • Men: $56,936 vs. $83,469

A climate survey conducting by the Association of American University (AAU) in 2015 revealed the following statistics:

  • 3 in 4 LGBTQ students reported having experienced sexual harassment at least once
  • 20% of LGBTQ students feared for their physical safety due to their gender identity or perceived sexual orientation
  • 31% of LGTBQ students of color reported experiencing "exclusionary, intimidating, offensive or hostile conduct" that they attributed to their racial identity

Resources:

Postsecondary National Policy Institute Fact Sheet, (n.d.). Retrieved from https://pnpi.org/lgbtq-students-in-higher-education/


College administrators, when reviewing how inclusive their campuses are, should use the following measurements.

  • Education
  • Health
  • Personal Safety and Violence
  • Economic Well-Being
  • Political & Civic Participation

Each measure of inclusion represent a large group of smaller but important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community. The more college administrators address from the measures, the more inclusive a campus is and higher probability that a student will complete college.



LGBTI Inclusion Index, (2016). Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialdevelopment/publication/investing-in-a-research-revolution-for-lgbti-inclusion

Resources

For Administration, Deans, Faculty & Staff

College Administrators should seek to be proactive in providing a safe and inclusive community not only for its LGBTQ students but also its staff and faculty. Creating a safe space has to happen at every level, from administration creating and modeling policy by providing appropriate trainings for staff and faculty, as well as a safe zones for students.

The Human Rights Campaign is a leader in providing not only advocacy for diverse populations, but as well as resources. Topics that effect college campus include:

  • Workplace: updates to federal and state legislation involving the LGBTQ community
  • Campus & Young Adult: Scholarships, gender neutral housing, networking, coming out process,
  • Communities of Color: Learn about diversity within the LGBTQ population and the unique challenges LGBTQ communities of color face.
  • Trainings: A variety of trainings offered through eLearning and on-demand. Topics include working with trans youth, cultural competency, health issues, etc.

The Human Rights Campaign [website]. (nd). Retrived from https://www.hrc.org

'Ask Me': What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know [video]. (September 3, 2015) Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnbnF8QAnsY

In 2015, The Chronicle of Higher Education published a special report reviewing diversity in academia, specifically in the transgender population. Highlighted topics include:

    • Admissions process
    • Adopting inclusive language
    • Athletics
    • Human Resources- hiring LGTBQ
    • Support, understanding & wellness

Diversity in Academe: Transgender on Campus [Special report]. (2015, October 18). Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/specialreport/Diversity-in-Academe-/11

The Safe Zone Project

Two reasons to have a Safe Zone program on a college or university campus:

(1) LGBTQ+ students need to know who on campus is safe and supportive, and

(2) Allies need a way of showing others that they are safe and supportive.

A Safe Zone training program is a key part of integrating LGBTQ+ groups and school staff. Such training allows for educators to gain knowledge and understanding of any biases towards this group as well as providing a set of lenses to reframe our interactions, conversations, and services in our efforts to create an inclusive environment. https://thesafezoneproject.com/



Mental Health in LGBTQ Community

Homelessness

LGBTQ+ college aged students are disproportionately represented in the homeless community. According to the site below, LGBTQ+ students are twice as likely as their cisgender peers to be homeless in the last twelve months. This link connects to a study series by Chapin Hall through the University of Chicago that documents LGBTQ+ youth homelessness issues and suggestions for addressing those issues.

Missed Opportunities: LGBTQ youth homelessness in america [report]. (2018, April). Retrieved from http://voicesofyouthcount.org/brief/LGBTQ-youth-homelessness/

All Gender Neutral Symbol Bathroom Sign With Braille. (2019). Retrieved from http://www.asidtucson.org/gender-neutral-bathroom-signs/image/0960/all-gender-neutral-symbol-bathroom-sign-with-braille.html

The image below depicts the struggle transgender students face everyday when deciding which restroom to use.

Drury, C. (2017). American River College Gender Neutral Sign. Retrieved from https://www.arcurrent.com/opinion/2017/03/22/gender-neutral-restrooms-to-the-rescue/

Gender Neutral Bathrooms

Bathrooms are typically sex-segregated in schools. They are meant to be used according to our biological sex. However, current bathrooms designed for either biologically males or females do not take into consideration gender expression and identity.

Additionally, same sex bathrooms not only fail to be gender inclusive, they also fail to acknowledge and understand that psychological conditions that have nothing to do with one’s own biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.

According to a study by GLSEN (2015), research indicated that over ⅓ of LGBTQ+ students avoided segregated spaces in schools because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable. A whopping 39.4% avoided bathrooms while 37.9% avoided locker rooms (The 2015 National School Climate Survey, p. 4). Furthermore, one half of transgender students report that they are required to use the bathroom that corresponds to their legal sex rather than the one that corresponds to their gender identity (GLSEN, 2015).

Implementing the use of neutral gender bathrooms in schools should not represent a dilemma. It is quite an easy solution. Students should not feel isolated, uncomfortable, or insecure when being on campus or using the restrooms. GLSEN (2015) in its model district policy on transgender and gender nonconforming students that illustrates the implementation of this:

“Any student who is uncomfortable using a shared sex-separated facility, regardless of the reason, shall, upon the student’s request, be provided with a safe and non-stigmatizing alternative. However, requiring a transgender or gender nonconforming student to use a separate space threatens to publicly identify and stigmatize the student as transgender and should not be done unless requested by a student. Under no circumstances may students be required to use sex-segregated facilities that are inconsistent with their gender identity” (p. 6).

Schools should have private, gender-neutral bathrooms for all students to use regardless of their reasons. This is an effort to accommodate their needs and privacy and not to segregate them from the rest of the student body.

References

GLSEN (n.d.). Gender neutral bathrooms are radical, but not how you think. Retrieved from https://www.glsen.org/blog/gender-neutral-bathrooms-are-radical-not-how-you-think

GLSEN (2015). The 2015 national school climate survey [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.glsen.org/article/2015-national-school-climate-survey


The Campus Pride Index [website]. (nd). Retrieved from https://www.campusprideindex.org

Campus Pride Index

Since 2007, the Campus Pride Index has been the premier LGBTQ+ national benchmarking tool for colleges and universities to create safer, more inclusive campus communities. The free online tool allows prospective students, families/parents and those interested in higer education to search a database of LGBTQ+ friendly campuses who have come out to imporve the academic experience and quality of campus life. https://www.campusprideindex.org




The Consortium, is a member-based organization working towards the liberation of LGBTQ+ people in higher education that support individuals who work on campuses to educate and support people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. The Consortium also advocates for more inclusive policies and practices through an intersectional and racial justice framework.

Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals [website]. (nd). Retrieved from https://www.lgbtcampus.org