Barnard College announced on Thursday that it would join the fast-growing number of women's colleges with clarified admissions policies for transgender students.
Barnard's Board of Trustees voted on Wednesday in a closed meeting to approve the changes, which will take effect for students applying for admission in the fall of 2016. The college’s policy now says it welcomes applications from transgender women — students who are born male and transition to female. Barnard will not admit students who were born female and identify as male when they apply, but female students who transition to male during their time at Barnard will not be affected by the policy.
Barnard acted after the college’s administration and board spent several months exploring the policy shift with people on the campus and with alumnae, holding town-hall meetings and spearheading a survey that drew more than 900 responses.
"There was no question that Barnard must reaffirm its mission as a college for women. And there was little debate that trans women should be eligible for admission to Barnard," Debora Spar, Barnard's president, and Jolyne Caruso-FitzGerald, the board’s chair, said ina joint letter on Thursday.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/barnard-joins-growing-list-of-womens-colleges-that-welcome-transgender-applicants/100129