The Effect of LGBT Resource Centers on Student Success & Engagement

This quantitative study was developed to determine whether involvement in a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Resource Center had a measurable impact on the success, engagement, and retention of LGBTQ students at St. Cloud State University. Success included academic completion and grade point average (GPA); engagement included the number of times and type of participation in the LGBT Resource Center; and retention was measured by the student’s self-reported intention of returning to the university. The results of this study indicate that there were positive relationships between ‘outness’ and student involvement. A surprising result of this study was that students who admitted to hiding their gender identity and/or sexual orientation were more likely to have a higher GPA.