Iowa universities change admission applications to offer just two sexes

IOWA CITY — Three days after a pair of Republican lawmakers contacted the Board of Regents with concerns over the number of genders listed on admission applications to Iowa’s public universities, all three campuses updated their forms to offer just three options: male, female, or “prefer not to answer.”

“As part of President Trump’s Restoring Sanity Agenda, he has made it the official policy of the United States that there are only two genders — male and female,” Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, and Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, wrote in their Feb. 10 letter to the board. “I have been made aware our regent universities use contrary practices and policies.”

The University of Iowa, for example, offered “at least seven different genders” on its admission applications, according to the letter from Collins and Evans.

“That is why today I am requesting the board adopt the same policy outlined by President Trump — there are only two genders,” according to the letter. “If we have recognized anything since the last election, Americans and Iowans are ready for a return to sanity, and that begins with recognizing this basic biological reality.”

In board documents made public Tuesday, regents indicated they already were looking into changes in recognition of executive orders and other federal directives.

“The regent universities began discussions in early February regarding the questions used to collect legal sex and self-identified gender on applications for admission,” according to a board proposal to update applications for the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa.

After receiving the letter from Collins and Evans last week, the universities on Feb. 13 updated their admission applications to just the two sex options — and a third nonanswer option.

“Questions on gender have been removed from the university applications,” according to board documents.

Regents will consider approving the application changes at their meeting next week in Urbandale.

President Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration Jan. 20 signed a slew of executive orders, including one announcing the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes.

“These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” according to Trump’s order. “Under my direction, the executive branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality.”

The gender options previously listed on UI admissions applications were: agender, cisgender, man, nonbinary, transgender, woman, another gender not listed above, and prefer not to answer.

And while Iowa’s public universities — pending board approval — will have updated applications recognizing just two sexes, all three campuses also participate in the “Common App,” a nonprofit organization that simplifies the application process by allowing students to fill out one application and disseminate it to more than one participating college or university.

Sixteen colleges or universities in Iowa participate in the Common App — including all three of Iowa’s public universities and private institutions like Coe College, Cornell College, and Drake University.

That application still asks questions about both sex and gender and offers more than two options. Its options for gender include female, male, nonbinary, or “add another gender.” It’s options for sex include female, male, or “X or another legal sex.”

The Common App also asks about pronouns — offering four options: he/him, she/her, they/them, or “another pronoun set.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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