The Princeton Review’s list of the 20 most LGBT-friendly colleges and universities in the U.S.:
1. Emerson College (Boston, Mass.)
2. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, N.C.)
3. New College of Florida (Sarasota, Fla.)
4. Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.)
5. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wis.)
6. Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio)
7. Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Needham, Mass.)
8. Smith College (Northampton, Mass.)
9. New York University
10. Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, Pa.)
11. Wellesley College (Wellesley, Mass.)
12. Bennington College (Bennington, Vt.)
13. University of Chicago
14. Yale University (New Haven, Conn.)
15. Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.)
16. Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, N.Y.)
17. Macalester College (St. Paul, Minn.)
18. Pitzer College (Claremont, Calif.)
19. Marlboro College (Marlboro, Vt.)
20. Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa)

At the other end of the spectrum, here is the list of the 20 most LGTB-unfriendly schools. The schools in bold are new to the list:
1. Grove City College, (Grove City, Pa.)
2. Hampden-Sydney College (Hampden-Sydney, Va.)
3. College of the Ozarks (Point Lookout, Mo.)
4. Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.)
5. University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.)
6. Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah)
7. Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
8. Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
9. University of Rhode Island (Kingston, R.I.)
10. University of Dallas (Irving, Texas)
11. Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas)
12. Baylor University (Waco, Texas)
13. Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.)
14. Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.)
15. Colgate University (Hamilton, N.Y.)
16. Wofford College (Spartanburg, S.C.)
17. Hillsdale College (Hillsdale, Mich.)
18. Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.)
19. Pepperdine University (Malibu, Calif.)
20. University of Wyoming (Laramie, Wyo.)

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Campus Pride offers an alternative list of the 50 most LGBT-friendly colleges and universities in the U.S. The institutions are listed alphabetically, rather than ranked:

 

Amherst College

Augsburg College

Brown University

Central Washington University

Connecticut College

Cornell University

Dartmouth College

Emory University

Harvard University

Indiana University

Ithaca College

Macalester College

Northern Arizona University

Oberlin College

Ohio State University

Oregon State University

Pennsylvania State University

Pomona College

Portland State University

Princeton University

Rutgers University

San Diego State University

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Southern Oregon University

Stanford University

Syracuse University

Tulane University

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Riverside

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Cruz

University of Central Florida

University of Chicago

University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Maryland, College Park

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

University of Michigan

University of Minnesota, Duluth

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

University of Oregon

University of Pennsylvania

University of Rhode Island

University of Southern California

University of Vermont

University of Washington

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Warren Wilson College

Washington State University

Washington University in St. Louis

 

The name of each institutions is linked to an explanation of why it has been included in the list: http://www.campuspride.org/campus-pride-releases-2014-top-50-lgbt-friendly-list-highlighting-the-best-of-the-best-colleges-universities/.

_________________________

Out of curiosity, I checked the scoring of my own institution, Wright State University, and this is what I found:

 

Then I checked the lowest scores.

 

Here are the questions under “Academic Life,” for which Wright State received a score of three out of six stars:

LGBT Academic Life Question

1. Does your campus have LGBT-specific courses offered through various academic departments and programs?

2. Does your campus have a LGBT studies program that offers a one or a combination of the following:

Academic Major

If so, Name of Degree Major:

Academic Minor

If so, Name of Academic Minor:

Academic Concentration

If so, Name of Academic Concentration:

Academic Certificate

If so, Name of Academic Certificate:

3. Does your campus integrate LGBT issues into existing courses when appropriate?

4. Does your campus have a significant number of LGB-inclusive books and periodicals on sexual orientation topics in the campus library/libraries?

5. Does your campus have a significant number of transgender-inclusive books and periodicals on gender identity/expression topics in the campus library/libraries?

6. Does your campus include sexual orientation issues in new faculty/staff programs and training opportunities?

7. Does your campus include gender identity/expression issues in new faculty/staff programs and training opportunities?

 

And here are the questions under “Recruitment and Retention Efforts,” for which Wright State received a score of three and a half out of six stars:

LGBT Recruitment & Retention Efforts Questions

1. Does your campus actively seek to recruit and retain LGBT students, similar to other targeted populations (e.g. ethnic/multicultural students, athletes, international students)?

2. Does your campus have any scholarships specifically for LGBT students and LGBT allies?

3. Does your campus include sexual orientation issues in new student orientation programs?

4. Does your campus include gender identity/expression issues in new student orientation programs?

5. Does your campus have a Lavender or Rainbow Graduation (i.e. a special graduation ceremony for LGBT students and allies)?

6. Does your campus have a LGBT mentoring program to welcome and assist LGBT students in transitioning to academic and college life?

7. Does your campus participate in an LGBT admissions fair to do outreach to prospective LGBT college students?

 

The survey is valuable, I think, because it provides specific guidelines for making our campuses safer and more productive environments for our LGBT students and because it provides mechanisms for institutions to report their progress in specific areas.