Evaluate your Next School on Gay Rights
While various university rankings abound on the Internet, Gay By Degree , an online guide created by Stonewall UK , allows students in Britain to find schools based a different sort of parameter: How open the schools are to different types of sexuality. “We think it is really important for prospective gay students that they are able to research how friendly universities are,” said Wes Streeting, head of education at Stonewall UK, one of Britain’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual, or L.G.B., rights groups.
Gay By Degree, now in its third year, produces an annual evaluation of British universities. For its Uni Guide 2013, which was published over the summer, the group worked for the first time with the National Union of Students.
The site rates universities by 10 factors, including whether they have their own L.G.B. student associations, whether staff members are trained in L.G.B. issues, and whether there are official policies to protect L.G.B. students from bullying.
“Higher education has been a liberating force for many years,” Mr. Streeting said by telephone. “Now we are trying to make every university an exemplar of how society ought to be.”
While much of the information could be found independently with enough time and effort, Gay By Degree creates a searchable database and gives L.G.B. student issues greater prominence.
“If we can’t see it — and we’re actively looking for the information — how can potential applicants find out about it?” Mr. Streeting asked.
Since the project began three years ago, several universities have approached the advocacy group about improving their scores on the site.
“Universities are having to think a lot harder about recruiting students from diverse backgrounds,” Mr. Streeting said. So far, four universities have improved their Gay By Degree score to a full 10 out of 10 since the online rating started.
In the rest of Europe, fewer universities have official L.G.B. student unions or guidelines compared with Britain, according to Jordan Long, an officer at the Belgium-basedInternational Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Youth and Student Organization.
“The U.K. is very proactive, but in many countries on the mainland it is an uphill battle,” Mr. Long said, referring to Continental Europe.
Finn McGoldrick, an L.G.B.T. officer at the National Union of Students, said the organization was less interested in rankings and more interested in making all universities more inclusive. “We don’t want to pit universities against one another,” she said.
According to Ms. McGoldrick, institutional inclusiveness may not be the only factor. Many students may also consider the city the university is located in, zeroing in for the more dynamic gay scenes in London, Brighton or Manchester, she said.
Still, she said, “Stonewall has correctly tapped into something.”
By CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE
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