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302-5 - Change of Student Name and Preferred Name

Title: Preferred Name and Pronoun/Change of Legal Name
Owner: University Registrar
Last Updated/Revised: 05/01/2024

Policy: Students may change their legal, preferred first name and pronoun as described below. 

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. This policy outlines the procedures for students to change their legal name and preferred name within the university's records and systems.

Change in Legal Name

Students are permitted to change their legal names upon submission of a copy of acceptable documentation that reflects the new name to the Office of the Registrar.

Acceptable documents include:

  • Driver License
  • Passport or a Permanent Resident Card
  • Marriage Certificate
  • Court Order documenting a name change
  • Voter Registration Card
  • Social Security Card
  • Bank Statement

Change in Preferred First Name

Preferred first names will only be used for University internal purposes and in cases where legal first names are not absolutely necessary. Examples of where legal first names are necessary include, but are not limited to, student accounts, responses to verification inquiries such as verification of enrollment, 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 (‘).

The University will not process requests where a) names contain foul or inappropriate language as deemed by the University, or b) names used for the purposes of misrepresentation.

The preferred first name will appear on class rosters at the beginning of a session. Other campus offices with administrative need will be notified including Enrollment, Academic Advising, Information Technology, and Registrar. As with this and other student information and records, staff and faculty are trained on the sensitivity of this information.

USU does its best to educate the campus community about preferred names; however, this service should not be construed as a contract that the preferred name will be used by the University 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.

Students must pay a fee of $10.00 if requesting a new student ID using preferred first name. Student IDs with preferred names vs. legal names cannot be used as legal identification. Only one ID per student will be issued at a given time.

Procedure:

Change in Legal Name

  1. Students wishing to change their legal name may do so by completing the Student Name Change Form.
  2. Students must submit legal documentation supporting the change.
    1. Examples of acceptable documentation include a Driver License, a Passport or a Permanent Resident Card, Marriage Certificate, a Court Order documenting a name change, voter registration, Social Security Card, and/or a bank statement.
  3. The Office of the Registrar will update the student’s name at the end of each session.
  4. Once completed, the Office of Registrar will inform the student and necessary departments (e.g. Student Finance and Information Technology).

Preferred First Name

  1. Students wishing to change their preferred first name and/or Pronoun must submit the Preferred Name and Pronoun Form to the Office of the Registrar at Registrar@usuniversity.edu.
  2. Once the update has been made to the student record, relevant departments will be informed of the update including Enrollment, Academic Advising, Accessibility Services, Financial Aid, Information Technology, Library, Office of the Registrar, and Student Accounts.
  3. A student's preferred first name will be displayed on class rosters starting from the effective session after the update has been made.

Scope: This policy applies to all university employees and current and prior students.

Documents and Forms: