The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2 - 90

Deborah J. Taub * R. Bradley Johnson * Torry Reynolds

ers to explore the idea, also expressed by Bleiberg (2004) and Willoughby et al. (2012), that
the trend of GNH may be similar to that followed by coeducational housing. Changes to
the survey instrument indicated by ﬁndings in
this study will be made at that time.
Given the prevalence with which "parent/
family member concerns" was identiﬁed as an
obstacle to the implementation of GNH, future
research could explore the attitudes of parents
and family members toward gender-neutral
housing. Student interest and attitudes could
also be studied, given that "lack of student
interest" was also identiﬁed as an obstacle.
Another question that could be explored is,
What predicts the presence of GNH?
In addition, research should begin to explore
the impact of gender-neutral housing on the
students living in these housing options. Areas
for exploration include retention, academic
success (including GPA), sense of safety, sense
of belonging, and overall satisfaction with the
on-campus living experience, as well as psychosocial impacts such as the development of autonomy and mature interpersonal relationships
(Chickering & Reisser, 1993). Finally, there is a
need to examine GNH practices at institutions
not represented in the current study, including
Historically Black Colleges and Universities and
institutions outside the U.S.

Implications for Practice
Whereas some institutions have very welldeveloped and detailed gender-neutral housing
policies, others have policies that are quite rudimentary or even lack them altogether. Some
institutions do not have a formal, detailed policy
regarding GNH but, rather, consider requests
for GNH on a case-by-case basis. Regardless

of the level of formality of these policies, it is
important for institutions to acknowledge the
diversity of student populations present on
their campuses and to offer the opportunity
for students to speak with housing professionals if they have a unique concern related
to their housing assignment. For some institutions, GNH offers opportunities for increased social interaction between men and
women, creating learning environments that
support the overall academic missions of institutions in a manner similar to traditional
classrooms and extracurricular activities and
organizations (Bleiberg, 2004).
GNH has been implemented as a way to
address growing concern among the LGBT
population with feeling safe and comfortable
living in on-campus residence hall environments (Bleiberg, 2004; Krum et al., 2013).
Bleiberg (2004) noted that current housing
practices utilizing single-sex roommate assignment practices may be creating environments where LGBT students feel unsafe. This
is especially true for students who identify as
transgender, given that these students may
not necessarily identify with their biological
sex and may, instead, more readily identify
with the opposite gender (Krum et al., 2013).
However, current assignment practices at
many institutions would require that transgender students be assigned a roommate of
the same biological sex, thereby potentially
creating an uncomfortable living environment for ideal student growth and development. As Bleiberg (2004) stated, "Changing
campus policies to accommodate for the
needs and rights of LGBT students is a necessary means to assuring safety and support in
students' living environment" (p. 5).

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2

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