The University of Iowa has made its admissions process more LGBT-friendly, according to press-citizen.com. University officials hope that two changes to a section of the school’s undergraduate admissions application will make the process more LGBT-friendly for prospective students who may be members of the LGBT community.

“In the UI’s strategic plan, The Iowa Promise, we state seven core values which guide every aspect of our mission: excellence, learning, community, diversity, integrity, respect, and responsibility,” said Michael Barron, assistant provost for enrollment management and executive director of admissions, in a statement. “The new LGBT question on our undergraduate application reflects our foundational commitment to inclusion of all students, no matter what their origin or orientation.”

The Des Moines Register notes that the University of Iowa is the first public university to make its admissions process more LGBT-friendly. Elmhurst College was the first school to let students self-identify as members of the LGBT community in an identification portion of the admissions application.

According to a page on the Elmhurst College website entitled “Out at Elmhurst,” the College is open and welcoming to people of all faiths and of all sexual orientations. The school is affiliated with the United Church of Christ which was the first mainstream American church to ordain an African-American pastor, a woman and an openly gay person.

“We took this step in an effort to better serve each of our students as a unique person,” said Elmhurst President S. Alan Ray at the time of the decision to make his school’s admissions process more LGBT-friendly. “It also allows us to live out our commitments to cultural diversity, social justice, mutual respect among all persons, and the dignity of every individual. These are among the core values of this institution. They provide the foundation for all of our academic, student and community programs.”

The undergraduate admissions application at Elmhurst College includes the following question: “Would you consider yourself a member of the LGBT community?”

Officials at the University of Iowa think that the school’s decision will be a good example for other schools who may be considering similar changes to their application process.

“It sets that precedent of all people of all different kinds of diversity are respected here,” University of Iowa Senior Admissions Counselor Jake Christensen told press-citizen.com. “Even if you don’t want to identify, just seeing that I think communicates a pretty strong message to prospective students.”

The Des Moines Register points out that two changes have been made to the University of Iowa’s undergraduate admissions application. Students will be able to select “Transgender” as their gender, as opposed to just “Male” or “Female,” in an online portion of the school’s admissions process. They will also be able to check a box that says “Do you identify with the LGBT community?” in another section of the application.

Mr. Christensen thinks that the University of Iowa’s LGBT-friendly admissions process will only add to Iowa City’s reputation as a place where open mindedness is celebrated.

“Students are coming here because of that,” Mr. Christensen said. “I think this will enhance that.”

According to University of Iowa Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice President Georgina Dodge, making the school’s undergraduate admissions application more LGBT-friendly was viewed as an important step toward obtaining an even higher ranking on the Campus Pride Index, which measures the LGBT friendliness of college and university campuses.