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Community colleges are among the most diverse institutions in the American higher education system. Students across lifestyles, creeds, racial/ethnic backgrounds, gender groups, ability levels, and socioeconomic status reflect the legacy of two-year institutions to provide educational opportunities for many on the margins of full participation. The preponderance of community college students seeks this tier of postsecondary education, as it promises to equalize educational access across divergent student populations. Nonetheless, the unique campus climates of community colleges have not halted marginalization that occurs for sexual minority students. In this chapter, the authors trace the dearth of available literature on LGBTQ students at community colleges, provide a commentary for future research, and offer action steps for practitioners in creating visibly inclusive LGBTQ campus environments. (Contains 2 tables.)

Given the widespread application of qualitative research approaches and methods, it is necessary to develop guidelines for reporting qualitative research, as well as standards for assessing such research. Although qualitative research operates within a different paradigm from quantitative research, the same overarching criteria of rigor and credibility must be applied. Particular elements of background, methods, analysis, findings, and conclusions should be addressed in any qualitative manuscript submitted to the Journal of Counseling & Development., The practice of qualitative inquiry covers a variety of research methods and approaches that operate from an interpretive paradigm, developing portrayals of a socially constructed, complex, and dynamic reality (Glesne [...]