Assessing the Campus Climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Students Using a Multiple Perspectives Approach

Abstract

In this study we compared perceptions of the campus climate for GLBT students from surveys returned by 80 GLBT students, 253 general students, 126 faculty members, 41 student affairs staff members, and 105 residence hall assistants. A snowball sampling strategy was used to collect GLBT student responses, all residence hall assistants were surveyed, and a stratified random sampling process was used for faculty, student affairs staff, and general students. Some survey scales were common across all groups and some were unique to each group. They focused on knowledge, interest, and involvement in GLBT topics, attitudes toward GLBT persons and issues, and perceptions of the campus climate. The authors believe the results suggest that sufficient differences exist across and within (sex and class for students, sex and academic discipline for faculty) campus community groups to warrant using a multiple perspectives approach when assessing the campus climate for GLBT students.

Diversity and inclusivity at university: a survey of the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) students in the UK

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The Impact of Sexual Orientation on College Student Victimization: An Examination of Sexual Minority and Non-Sexual Minority Student Populations

“…While it varied depending on academic program, previous research found that student affairs staff members were more aware of issues than were faculty members, with findings indicating a greater knowledge of sexual minority topics and events amongst the student affairs staff when compared to the faculty (R. D. Brown et al, 2004). Clear policies that faculty and staff are aware of can assist them in recognizing and addressing these issues whenever observed, as well as being receptive to students who bring up such issues with them.…”

From chilly climate to warm reception : experiences and good practices for supporting LGBTQ students in STEM

“…These findings are echoed repeatedly throughout the literature, with studies telling the same story of LGBT students facing higher levels of harassment, fear for personal safety, and reporting the concealment of their sexual and gender identities to avoid intimidation (Brown et al, 2004;Ellis, 2009;Gortmaker & Brown, 2006;McKinney, 2005;Rankin, 2005;Waldo, 1998). While all of these studies share the limitations of small sample sizes, and some do not cover transgender students, the students' experiences reported by all of them are remarkably similar.…”

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