Thriving on Campus: What LGBTQIA+ Students Expect from Community Colleges

This brief was done in partnership with IWPR’s Connect for Success initiative and innovation Research & Training (iRT).

Many young adult LGBTQIA+ students worry about discrimination at their community college, with 79 percent of sexual minority students and 86 percent of gender minority students indicating that they are concerned.

The LGBTQIA students surveyed also believe their community colleges should be responsible for providing resources that prevent discrimination and support LGBTQIA+ students’ inclusion, belonging, and well-being (Figure 1). About 93 percent of gender minority and around 88 percent of sexual minority students felt their college should be responsible for having a clear policy against discrimination and providing LGBTQ+ support training for teachers and students (i.e., training to create inclusive and supportive environments and promote allyship).

In addition, 88 percent of gender minority students and 83 percent of sexual minority students said colleges should provide counseling for LGBTQIA+ students. This may include 1:1 support from trained counselors or clinicians who can address students’ mental, physical, and/or relationship health needs in an inclusive way. When these services are not available on campus, colleges can also support students through referrals to affirming off-campus care. Over three-quarters of sexual minority (77 percent) and gender minority (88 percent) students indicated their college should provide referrals.

Key Takeaways

LGBTQIA+ students are concerned about discrimination at their community college. Although most LGBTQIA+ students in the Community College Health Study (CCHS)¹ said their campus should provide resources to support LGBTQIA+ students’ well-being, such as counseling and referrals, even more said their campus should have clear antidiscrimination policies and inclusive, relevant support training for faculty, staff, and students.

The data in this Quick Figure, together with broader research on LGBTQIA+ student well-being, point to a clear need for stronger community college policies that prevent discrimination and foster belonging. Campus climate ² toward LGBTQIA+ students is tied to both student mental health outcomes and academic success. Among sexual minority students, negative campus climate towards LGBTQIA+ people is linked to lower satisfaction with their college and greater intentions to drop out.

Overall, LGBTQIA+ students attending colleges with more discriminatory campus climates³ have higher stress, anxiety, and depression, compared to those with more supportive campus climates, and negative campus climate and discrimination (i.e., microaggressions) are linked to difficulty with the emotional adjustment to college among LGBTQIA+ students.⁴ Research also demonstrated that when college campuses have policies and resources to support LGBTQIA+ students (e.g., nondiscrimination policy, LGBTQIA+ resource center), transgender and nonbinary students feel safer on campus and are less likely to consider dropping out.⁵

In addition to nondiscrimination policies and LGBTQIA+ support training for teachers and students, LGBTQIA+ students in the CCHS felt that their community college campus should provide counseling and referrals for LGBTQIA+ students. Whether colleges provide students with on-campus resources or refer them to off-campus ones, it is essential that students receive inclusive and affirming care that does not perpetuate discriminatory beliefs and practices.

A note about terminology.

This Quick Figure is about the experiences and needs of community college students identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, aromantic, and/or as a part of another sexual and/or gender minority (LGBTQIA+) group.

• We use the term sexual minority to refer to individuals who identify their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual, and/or another sexual orientation other than heterosexual.
• We use the term gender minority to refer to individuals who identify as transgender, nonbinary, and/or another gender identity that is not cisgender.
• LGBTQIA+ is an acronym inclusive of sexual and gender minority individuals.

Survey questions completed by students in this study used the terminology “LGBTQ.” For the sake of clarity, the term LGBTQIA+ is used throughout this Quick Figure.

This Quick Figure was prepared by Dr. Martinique Free (IWPR) and Dr. Reina Evans-Paulson, Dr. Christina V. Dodson, and Dr. Tracy M. Scull (innovation Research & Training, Durham, NC). It was made possible with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Funding for the Community College Health Study was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number R01HD099134 and award number R56HD113725-01A1 to Dr. Tracy M. Scull. Research reported in this Quick Figure is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. The authors would also like to thank Jesseca Boyer for her feedback on previous drafts and Miranda Peterson for fact-checking.