When we think of college, we tend to think of progression and inclusion - a place where it is safe for everyone to explore who they are or who they want to be. We rarely think of it as a site for discrimination and inequality. But for transgender students, this is a very real reality that they are forced to confront when applying and attending college. Depending on how inclusive the university is and the resources they provide to this community, transgender students can either feel welcomed or stifled in their learning environment. The consequences of the latter are often that the students are unable to reach their true academic potential because they feel unsupported by their university. Providing transgender students with the resources and facilities they need to fully participate in the collegiate experience is not often a top priority of higher education administrators.  While they may be provided the same education to their peers, their overall academic experience is different and unequal.

For that reason, it is important to highlight the education inequity felt by this community both in terms of policy and campus climate. Since this issue has been prominent within the media as of late, it is pertinent to highlight what higher educational institutions offer or lack in terms of supporting their transgender communities. In doing so, we will provide examples of universities that have developed inclusive environments and how others may begin to adopt such practices. In this way, we will present the current policy and campus climate that the transgender community faces within America’s higher educational institutions and determine the ways in which it can be improved.

Before we begin discovering the experiences and reality that transgender students face within higher education, it is important to first explore what it is like to be transgender. Lee Makobe delves deeply into his life as a transgender man, confronting the obstacles he faced both inside and outside of his home.