The Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) has revised how applicants’ gender identity information is collected and shared, just months after a Queen’s student raised concerns about the process.
READ MORE: Concerns raised that OUAC personal information form forces disclosure of trans identity
Queen’s student Emma* had previously raised concerns to Queen’s and The Journal that OUAC’s application process did not allow transgender students to identify as a woman or man without also disclosing that they were transgender.
According to Emma, university portals, such as SOLUS, would also record applicants’ gender as “X/Other” if an option other than female or male was selected.
“They have separated [gender identity and trans experience] now and I think this is a really important and necessary step,” Emma said in an interview with The Journal.
Under the updated application process, applicants still complete a required personal information form that includes a question about gender identity. Applicants choose from the options: woman, man, Two-Spirit, genderqueer/gender non-binary, agender, another identity, or prefer not to answer.
However, the following question asks, “Are you someone with trans experience?” and includes the clarification, “Meaning your current gender identity does not align with your sex assigned at birth.” Applicants can respond “Yes,” “No,” or “Prefer not to answer.” This two-step approach mirrors the solution Emma proposed in March 2026.
“I’m really happy that they changed that,” Emma said. “It’s just a lot of additional burden that is put onto trans people that didn’t need to be there in the first place.”
Before the revisions, Emma was put in contact with Krisha Marshall from the Office of the University Registrar at Queen’s. Emma said that Marshall kept her updated on the changes throughout the process, adding she was “very positively surprised by the Registrar’s efforts.”
“I got updates from the Registrar every couple of weeks,” she said.
Emma said that she, along with other community members and queer groups on campus, were surprised by how quickly the issue was addressed, arguing that university leaders do not always address similar issues promptly.
Moving forward, Emma hopes the revised application process provides greater control over what information transgender applicants choose to disclose while also allowing universities to collect more accurate demographic data.
According to a joint statement from Maria Rivera, chair of the Ontario Universities’ Council on Admissions (OUCA), and Geraldine Jones, chair of the Ontario University Registrars’ Association (OURA), the revised gender identity questions were developed through the OURA EDI Working Group, with representation from OUCA.
Rivera and Jones said the EDI Working Group considered feedback from applicants, guidance counsellors, and universities before the revisions were brought to OURA for review and approval.
“The intent of the changes is to give applicants greater flexibility in how they choose to self-identify, while taking privacy considerations into account,” the statement said.
When asked if Queen’s anticipates making any further changes to its own admissions processes related to equity and inclusion, the University said it’s “actively engaged in reviewing how applicant gender data received from OUAC is integrated into our student information systems.”
*Names changed for privacy and safety reasons
Tags
OUAC, Personal information, Trans Identity, transgender
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