Barnard College will become the most recent all-women's school to begin allowing the enrollment of transgender females.

According to the New York Times, the Barnard Board of Trustees approved the new policy Wednesday and is designed to accept "[applicants who] consistently live and identify as women, regardless of the gender assigned to them at birth."

Barnard, which is part of Columbia University, will accept applications from people who were born male but identify as female. The school will not accept people born female who came to identify as male. The school will also not accept people born either gender who do not identify as either male or female. Barnard will also allow females who begin their transition to become a male during their education to complete their degree.

"When I first started hearing from trans students, I think as a human being, I couldn't help but sympathize," Barnard President Debora L. Spar told the Times. "I think once you understand the human dimension of this, you want to do the right thing. The harder question then is, what is the right thing?"

She said the trustees arrived at their decision after about a year of discussions involving alumnae, faculty, students and others. It also follows increased visibility for members of the transgender community and similar policies adopted by schools like Smith College, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke and more.

"Students seem to be very clear about their opinions and where the college should be moving," Anna Steffens, a Barnard graduate in 2010, told the Columbia Spectator in Feb. "I tended to agree to the stuff that students were saying. I think a lot of alums were talking and didn't necessarily have enough knowledge as students do in this topic area."

Spar said in an open letter she hopes the school's new policy will be ready for the fall of 2016, noting the implementation process is expected to take up the next academic year.

"We want to thank all of you for being a part of this effort, especially our students, who pushed us to think broadly and to stand behind our commitment to diversity," she wrote. "We also want to extend a special note of gratitude to Frances Sadler '72 and Diana Vagelos '55 who thoughtfully shepherded the Committee on Campus Life as they considered this important issue."