Education Beyond the Straight and Narrow: LGBT Students' Experience in Higher Education

This research, the first of its kind, explores the experience of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) students in higher education, focusing specifically on their everyday life on campus, their access to different services and factors that influence success and course completion. This report draws on a national survey of more than 4,000 respondents from 80 higher education institutions in the UK that was conducted between February and March 2014. It also comprises case studies from the universities of Bangor, Nottingham, Manchester Metropolitan, University College London, the University of London and from an online focus group with trans students.

Key findings

Safety and well-being
•Just two in ten (20.6 per cent) trans students feel completely safe on campus, less than half the proportion of their heterosexual counterparts (43 per cent) and significantly less than the 36.7 per cent of LGB+ students who feel completely safe.
•One in five LGB+ and one in three trans respondents have experienced at least one form of bullying or harassment on their campus.
•LGB+ students are more likely to consider dropping out than heterosexual students: 25 per cent of heterosexual have seriously considered dropping out of their course compared to 27.7 per cent of gay, 26.6 per cent of lesbian, and 30 per cent of bisexual.
•More than half of LGB+ respondents (56 per cent) cited the feeling of not fitting in as the main reason for considering dropping out.
•LGBT students who have experienced a form of homophobic or transphobic harassment are 2–3 times more likely to consider leaving their course.

Coming out as a trans student
•One in two (51 per cent) trans respondents have seriously considered dropping out of their course.
•Of those who had considered dropping out, around two thirds mentioned the feeling of not fitting in and mentioned health problems (67 and 65 per cent respectively)
•One in seven trans respondents has had to interrupt their studies because of their transition.
•Trans students experience an intersection of issues, with 41.6 per cent of them reported having a disability, compared to 17.5 per cent of the whole sample.
•Trans respondents are twice as likely as LGB students to have experienced harassment (22 per cent vs. 9 per cent), threats or intimidations (13.5 per cent vs. 6 per cent), and physical assault on campus (5 per cent vs. 2 per cent).