FINDING THE RIGHT FIT is important for any college student; for the LGBT community, that especially rings true.
Historically marginalized and discriminated against, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is now embraced at many colleges across the U.S. Experts say that colleges increasingly want to be viewed as welcoming, diverse and inclusive of all.
"By and large, today's college campus wants to be seen as diverse and inclusive, and that includes LGBT young people. The challenge, for a family member or a student, is finding a college that actually has an institutional commitment to LGBT young people," says Shane Windmeyer, founder and executive director of Campus Pride, an online resource for LGBT students.
Institutional commitment, experts agree, is key to determining how well LGBT students fare on a college campus. To gauge this commitment, students should look at factors such as housing and restroom policies, curriculum, resources and representation.
Check Out the College's Nondiscrimination Policy
LGBT advocates say that one important starting point for prospective students is to examine a college's nondiscrimination policies. To find a college's nondiscrimination policy, search online using that term and the school name.
"For LGBTQ students, the first thing I recommend (they look at) is, does the college that you're looking at have a nondiscrimination policy? And does it include sexual orientation and gender identity? Now there may be campuses, that would be perfectly fine that don't have this included. But that is a red flag that says 'We didn't think of you,'" says Luca Maurer, director of LGBTQ education, outreach and services at Ithaca College in New York.
What's in the nondiscrimination policy – or not included – can be telling, experts say.
"Is that policy fully enumerated? We know that policies that are enumerated, which means it mentions all the categories covered tend to be much more effective than general policies," says Jean-Marie Navetta, director of learning and inclusion at PFLAG, a national organization founded in 1973 to support LGBT individuals.
Windmeyer cautions students to pay attention to religions exemptions to Title IX that are granted to some schools. Title IX is a civil rights law that prevents discrimination on the basis of sex. An exemption, Windmeyer says, "allows colleges to discriminate openly."
Zahida Sherman, director of the Multicultural Resources Center at Oberlin College in Ohio, suggests looking into campus climate. She notes that colleges occasionally survey students and employees to gauge their views on matters related to campus life.
"That will tell you really interesting things about how the campus has experienced bias-related incidents, those uncomfortable incidents targeting an individual or a group identity that typically leave people feeling unsafe or unwelcome," Sherman says.
Look Into Housing and Bathroom Policies
Housing and restroom policies can go a long way toward making a college campus feel welcoming to LGBT students, experts say.
"For students who might identify as nonbinary in terms of gender identity, are there policies that address how they will be treated and how they will be handled, and things like dorms, gym lockers and restrooms?" Navetta asks.
Maurer points to gender-inclusive housing as a good example of an LGBT-friendly policy. Open housing allows students to live with a roommate of their choice regardless of gender identity. For transgender and nonbinary students, this makes housing less complicated he says. Before Ithaca College changed its policy in 2016, those students would meet with Maurer to discuss accommodations, an option that still exists for students to ensure their needs are met.
Bathrooms are another important aspect of the physical environment for transgender and nonbinary students. Many schools list bathroom policies online. If that policy is unavailable on the college website, students can check with an admissions officer or a school's LGBT center – if it has one – for clarification.
"All-gender restrooms provide a great option for students in lots of different kinds of situations and with different experiences," Maurer says.
Maurer adds that a chosen name process, where students specify what should appear on class rosters and student ID cards, is also important. This, Maurer says, indicates a college's commitment to the needs of transgender and nonbinary students.
Find Out What Resources Are Available for LGBT Students
Experts say that most colleges will have LGBT student organizations, but that's only a starting point.
"If they don't go beyond that, I really question – especially in 2019 – what is their institutional commitment?" Windmeyer says.
Funded LGBT spaces can be indicative of a school making that commitment, Sherman says. "I encourage students and families to see if college campuses have any particular resource centers, with full-time professional staff to support LGBTQ students."
Navetta says students should also pay attention to programming specifics at campus-hosted LGBT activities to determine if the offerings are inclusive of the whole community. For example, she asks "are they ... talking about gender identity and sexual orientation, or is it just one or the other?"
Resources for staff also are important. Experts advise students to ask about training opportunities for faculty and staff.
"I would want to know, do many faculty and staff have the opportunity to receive professional development about how to how to create welcoming environments in the classroom and how to interrupt bias in co-curricular activities?" Maurer says. He adds that prospective students should consider what kind of policies and benefits exist for same-sex partners of campus employees.
Maurer points to Campus Pride as a good tool for students to learn more about how schools approach these matters.
Navetta says colleges should demonstrate cultural competencies for LGBT students across all departments. For example, counseling and health services should be trained on how to deal with mental and physical issues prevalent among LGBT youth.
Research LGBT Representation in Curriculum
When considering potential colleges, Sherman urges students to look into academic offerings. For example, are there majors or minors in queer studies or gender and sexuality?
“If so, that tends to be a good sign that the institution is committed to scholarly inquiry about LGBTQ communities, experiences, culture, history," Sherman says.
But LGBT representation shouldn't be limited to those majors alone, Navetta says. "Are LGBT stories being incorporated into curriculum?" she asks, suggesting that there is room in materials and discussions to address LGBT matters in other classes. "When you look at the classes, if there is nothing related to LGBT culture, history, literature, anything like that, I think those should be red flags. I think when people don't see themselves represented, that to me is the first red flag right there."
Maurer encourages prospective students to look for LGBT "mentions, cases studies and references" across all disciplines. He says students should inquire about curriculum offerings during their college search and ask admissions staff about LGBT representation. Another option, he adds, is to ask to be connected with a current student at the school to discuss these matters.
Consider Campus Location, But Don't Overthink It
Though same-sex marriage is legal across all states now, policies can still vary on other issues of importance for the LGBT community. Some states offer more protections than others, with laws that prohibit employment and housing discrimination against LGBT individuals, bar conversion therapy, offer state health benefits to eligible transgender citizens and more.
"Empirically speaking, there are some states where we know there are more resources available for people who are LGBTQ," Navetta says.
But a state's record on LGBT issues is not necessarily indicative of how a campus in that state welcomes and supports that community.
Oberlin College, for example, is well known for being LGBT-friendly, despite Ohio scoring in the lowest category of the 2018 State Equality Index, a state-by-state overview of LGBT protections put out by Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
"The state doesn't have the final say on what your campus, your college experience can be," Sherman says.
Windmeyer also notes that students should consider campuses within context. For example, a progressive college in Texas may not be on par with a counterpart in California but is ahead of the rest of the Lone Star State when it comes to LGBT issues. In that instance, the measuring stick applied to the campus may need to be adjusted if a student plans to stay within the state.
"Sometimes that campus is working hard. They're not perfect, but they have a commitment," Windmeyer says.