Campus Pride, the nation’s leading educational organization for student
leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college
environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students,
is praising the decision today by administrators at the University of
Iowa in Iowa City for including optional questions about students’
sexual orientation and gender identity in their college admission
application.
The University of Iowa, a public institution of higher education
founded in 1847, becomes the first public institution and the second
U.S. college or university to add LGBT-specific demographic questions
to its college admission form. The school follows Elmhurst College, a
private four-year liberal arts college, which made history in August
2011 as the first U.S. institution of higher education to ask such
demographic questions on their admission form. Elmhurst’s and Iowa’s
decisions reflect a conscious choice by administrators at the schools
to actively exercise responsibility for retention and academic success
of LGBT students.
"The move by University of Iowa administrators to include these
specific LGBT identity questions represent a growing paradigm shift in
higher education to actively recognize out LGBT youth populations and
to exercise greater responsibility for LGBT student safety, retention
and academic success," said Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride executive
director. "For the first time, a major, public and national research
university has taken efforts to identify their LGBT students from the
very first moment those students have official contact with them. This
is definite progress in the right direction — and deserves praise."
The new college admission application asks an optional question—"Do
you identify with the LGBTQ Community?" — and offers "Transgender" as
an additional gender option. The questions will be used to determine
incoming students’ needs, track retention rates, potential interest in
campus programs, and to offer support resources. The optional identity
question appears in a section of other optional questions asking
students about family connections to the university, parents’
educational background, interest in ROTC programs, and interest in
fraternities and sororities.
University of Iowa Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice
President Georgina Dodge says inviting students to provide this
information will help with both student success and retention.
"LGBTQ students are important members of our campus community, and we
want to provide them with an opportunity to identify themselves in
order to be connected to resources and to build networking structures,"
said Dodge. "Asking LGBTQ students to identify themselves demonstrates
that we value this aspect of identity just as we value the other
categories for which students check boxes."
In January 2011, the Common Application, which represents nearly 400
colleges and universities, rejected a proposal supported by Campus Pride
and others to add similar identity questions to their standardized
national admissions application citing cultural norms and that very few
colleges have sought the information. The organization the same year
added a question around religious affiliation for public and private
campuses.
"Campus Pride knows from our national research that a quarter of LGB
students encounter harassment on campus and this percentage is even
greater for transgender students. We also know that LGB youth are at
higher risk with certain negative health factors. There is no reason
today why colleges and universities should not be held accountable for
the campus climate as well as want to ensure the academic success and
retention of LGBT students," said Windmeyer. "We track retention for
other student populations. Now is the time to do so for LGBT students."
Campus Pride provides resources and programs for colleges and
universities seeking to make their campuses more welcoming and
affirming for LGBT students. The organization also has online a search
tool called the Campus Pride Index. Over 350 colleges and universities
are ranked on their LGBT-friendliness in policies, programs and
practice. The Index is available to students free of charge online at www.CampusPrideIndex.org.