302-5 - Change of Student Name and Preferred Name
| Title: |
Preferred Name and Pronoun/Change of Legal Name |
| Owner: |
Executive Director, Registrar Operations and Academic Compliance |
| Last Update/Revised: |
02/25/2021 |
Policy: This policy is intended to address significant changes in name designation. Preferred first names will only be used for USU internal purposes and in cases where legal first names are not absolutely necessary. Examples of where primary/legal first name are necessary include, but are not limited to, student accounts, responses to verification inquiries such as verification requests, financial aid documents, payroll, official transcripts, diplomas, conduct and academic honesty records, and federal immigration documents.
Preferred first names are limited to alphabetical characters (A-Z and a-z) and a space, hyphen (-) or apostrophe (‘).
Names used for the purpose of misrepresentation, containing foul or inappropriate language as deemed by the University will not be approved.
A student’s preferred first name will appear on class rosters beginning the session effective. The other campus offices with administrative need will be notified including: Enrollment, Academic, Academic Advising, Disability Services, Financial Aid, Information Technology, Library, Registration, and Student Accounts. As with this and other student information and records, staff and faculty are trained on the sensitivity of this information.
At USU we do our best to educate the campus community about your preference; however, this service should not be construed as a contract that the preferred name and/or gender will be used by
USU employees/representatives at all times. It should be noted that the ability to designate a preferred name and pronoun is an opportunity afforded to all students, and does not indicate that someone is a member of a particular group.
This policy is only applicable to preferred first name and/or pronoun and does not affect last name changes. Legal Name changes can be found below.
Change in Legal Name
Students may change legal names only if a legal document showing the new name/name change documentation is submitted to the Registrar. Examples of accepted documents include a Driver License, a Passport or a Permanent Resident Card, Marriage Certificate, a Court Order documenting a name change, voter registration, documents from the Social Security Administration, and/or bank documents.
Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to ensure the University remains committed to a non-discriminatory environment and to promote diversity and inclusiveness within its community.
Scope: This policy applies to all university employees and current students including prior students.
Document and Form(s):