1. Look to the limited research available to highlight a general need.
While a small research base is starting to form regarding the experiences and needs of trans and non-binary community college students, it is still VERY limited. As needed, triangulate the issue, using data about:
- the experiences and needs of trans and non-binary students at bachelors-conferring institutions and what those institutions are doing to support them
- the experiences and needs of community college students from other marginalized communities (particularly Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other students of color) and what those colleges are doing to support them
- the experiences and needs trans and non-binary people in society, as they are our current and potential students
2. Include questions about gender on all already-planned and future surveys.
It is important to have data regarding the trans, non-binary, and Two Spirit students on your campus so that you can accurately assess any equity gaps and other needs. Connecting with your Institutional Research team is an important first step to advocate for this. Advocating to the Board of Trustees to pass a resolution mandating this within the District could be another strategy. See the “Other Initiatives” page for more information on Board of Trustees Resolutions.
While student privacy should not be a barrier to accessing specific students’ information on a need-to-know basis, and for accessing generalized data for everyone, student privacy should be a consideration in how data is used. For example, LGBTQ+ specific emails should not be sent only to LGBTQ+-identifying students. For one, this may “out” students whose family members have access to their email. But also, because the data collection methods are so limited and gender and sexuality may change over time, it would be best for any outreach to be conducted campus-wide. The only caveat here is in the case where students “opt-in” to an LGBTQ+-specific email list.
Did you know? The University of California has been gathering Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data since 2006!
The Academic Senate of the CCCs (ASCCC) passed a resolution calling for increased SOGI data and LGBTQ+ student support in 2009. In 2013, questions about sexual orientation and gender identity were added to CCC Apply. In 2015, ASCCC acknowledged that the questions asked on CCCApply were confusing and the response options updated. In 2017, ASCCC acknowledged that colleges were withholding SOGI data due to privacy concerns, and urged colleges to release this data so colleges can identify equity gaps and make data-informed decisions to better support LGBTQ+ students. These changes still have not occurred, and there is a group of folks called the SOGI Coalition working actively to make these changes.
3. Build a process for students to voluntarily update their name, gender and pronouns (and sexuality) on a regular basis, such as prior to course registration.
Currently, the only time that students are able to specify their gender and sexuality is at the time they complete CCC Apply. There are a variety of reasons why LGBTQIA2+ students might not come out on that application, including (a) they are not out to themselves yet, (b) they are out to friends, but not out to their family, and are worried their family would find out, (c) they are not out to their family, and their family member is completing the application for them or with them, (d) they don’t trust where the information will go if they come out on their application.
Asking student’s if they would like to update their gender and/or sexuality during each class registration process would allow them an opportunity to easily update their information if they have not requested those changes, or more likely, if they didn’t even know they could. These questions should be completely optional, and asked alongside the option to update emergency contact information and/or re-acknowledge the student handbook.
Because gender and sexuality are fluid, it is important to continue to collect this data over time to be able to accurately assess course completion, persistence, retention, graduation, and transfer data. This would allow colleges to identify trends and any equity gaps for LGBTQIA2+ students.
Further Reading:
TRANScend Toolkit 