Estudios internacionales

Dear ____,

I am a graduate student under the direction of Professor Dr. Alonzo M. Flowers III, in the Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling and Foundations at the University of New Orleans (UNO).

I am conducting a research study regarding the experiences of transgender college students at four year institutions of higher education. I am requesting your participation, which could involve the following during the fall 2016 semester:

➢ Initial meeting

➢ Semi-structured interviews that will explore the students experience on their college campuses as it relates to their transgender identity

➢ Photo assignment – students will be asked to take pictures on their campus that either make them feel included in their community or make them feel excluded in their community

➢ Reflection Journals – students will be asked to keep a journal where they will be asked to reflect on their experiences on their college campuses as it relates to their gender identity

Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose not to participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, there will be no penalty. Participation in this study may bring up emotions and or experiences that you have had in the past as a transgender college student that may have been negative. If you do not want to talk about these experiences or stop discussing them, you may do so without question at any time throughout the process.

The results of the research study may be published and/or presented at a conference, but neither your name nor your institution’s name will be used.

By participating in this study, you may have the opportunity to share information that can help institutions of higher education better understand and meet the needs of transgender student populations. You also may experience growth and develop within yourself and how your transgender identity affects other aspects of your life.

All transcriptions, audio tape recordings, and journals will be kept in a confidential location known and accessible only to the researcher. After transcriptions have completed for audio recordings, the tapes will be erased and destroyed. Any handwritten journals will be converted to an electronic file through transcription by the researcher. Hand written journals will then be shredded.

Lastly, participation is voluntary, refusal to participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. You may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

If you have any questions concerning the research study, please call me at (504) 444-2151. You may also contact Dr. Flowers (Principal Investigator) at (504) 280-1031.

Sincerely, Christy E. Heaton Co-Investigator

By signing below, you are giving consent to participate in the above study.

_____________________________________________________________________ Signature

Printed Name: ________________________________________________________________________

Date: ___________________________________________________

If you have any questions about your rights as a subject/participant in this research, or if you feel you have been placed at risk, please contact Dr. Ann O’Hanlon at the University of New Orleans, (504) 280- 3990.

Appendix C

Demographic Information – Initial Meeting

● Name ● Age ● Identities o Gender o Race o Sexual Orientation ● Year in School ● Major

Appendix D

Interview 1 Questions – Semi Structured

● Please start by telling me about your first year college transition experience at your institution?

o Were there challenges? If so, what were they?

● How do you think your experiences have been shaped by your transgender identity? ● Describe your perceptions of your campus community?

o Do you feel included as a transgender student? Why/why not? ● Can you share a time where you felt excluded?

● What is something you wished faculty, staff, and administrators better understood about you as a transgender student?

● What is something you wished your peers better understood about you as a transgender student?

● Do you feel your campus communities understand transgender populations? How so or not?

Appendix E

Journal Prompts

Good day/bad day:

Throughout the data collection process (fall 2016 and spring 2017) participants will be asked to keep a journal where they document a positive or a negative experience that happens to them on their campus. Students do not need to write lengthy responses, simply a phrase or sentence regarding what happened.

Phase two journal:

Following the initial interview in phase one, participants were asked to write a journal entry addressing some of the thoughts and feelings that surfaced in the initial interview. Prompts were based on the review of responses from participants initial interviews and previous journal reflections.

Phase four journal:

In the final phase, participants will be asked to write a reflection journal regarding the research process. After discussing their experiences, have they become more aware of their campus community? Are they more aware of feelings of inclusion and exclusion? What do they feel could be different about their campus environments, both in and outside of the classroom?

Appendix F

Questions - Interview 2

1. Have you felt being at a university in the south has affected your experiences as a transgender student? Positively or negatively? How so?

2. What are your thoughts on the changing political context for transgender individuals? Has the context of our current political climate affected you?

3. Based on your experiences on campus, how has your institution responded to the changes impacting transgender individuals?

4. Are you aware of your campus’s stance on anti-discrimination? Does it include you as a trans student? *If they know, they may not know. I know what they are and will discuss with them.

5. Since we first spoke, how has your experience on your campus as a trans student been this semester?

6. You mentioned last time, that you wished individuals were more open to accepting you how you see yourself. Is that still the case or do you feel now that you have spent more time at your institution, it’s happening more? How so?

7. Any other experiences or comments, you’d like to share?

Appendix G

Photo Project

Participants were asked during phase two, to take photos on their campus of areas, places, spaces, etc. that either make them feel included or make them feel excluded. Students were asked to use their phones and email me the photos or, they could upload photos to a google document that was shared with only me.

VITA

Christy Heaton is from Jacksonville, Illinois. After finishing high school, Christy attended Illinois College and graduated in 2001 with a Theatre/Communications degree and minors in History and Spanish. After college Christy traveled and worked abroad teaching English in Japan. She returned to the US and pursued her Master’s degree in College Student Personnel, graduating from Western Illinois University in May 2007. For nine and a half years, Christy lived and worked in New Orleans, LA. She served as the Director for Orientation and First Year Programs at the University of New Orleans. Christy is currently the Director of First- Year Experiences at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research interests include First-Year college student transitions and transgender college student experiences.