The Impact of Campus Climate on Academic Success for Queer-Spectrum Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 22
  In Roundtable Session: Queer on Campus: Identity and Advocacy in Higher Education

Abstract

This study examines how campus climate directly affects academic performance for queer-spectrum students as measured by student persistence. The linear regression analysis model with all independent variables explained 23.4% of the variance in academic success for queer-spectrum undergraduate students (p < 0.001). Three major constructs related to campus climate significantly related to academic success for queer-spectrum undergraduate students, including students’ experiences with campus climate (ß= 0.38, p<0.001), institutional action (ß= 0.11, p<0.001), and perceptions of campus climate (ß= 0.08, p<0.01). In other words, students who had better experiences with campus climate, greater ratings of institutional action for campus climate, and warmer perceptions of campus climate rated their academic success as higher.

Authors

• Jason C. Garvey, The University of Alabama

• Dian D Squire, University of Denver

• Brett Stachler, Loyola University Chicago

• Susan Rankin, The Pennsylvania State University