It’s Sam’s first semester at CU and it starts with thoughts of excitement and apprehension. The apprehension comes because Sam‘s birth name is Sandra and where he’s built a sense of identity at the high school he’s left behind, he has to do it all over again in the new higher education community he’s becoming a part of this term. One of the ways Sam feels this sense of identity is when his professors and classmates recognize him as Sam, rather than searching the room looking for Sandra.

CU supports Sam’s identity and sense of community by providing him with the ability to enter his preferred name in the Campus Solutions self-service application. Once entered, Sam’s name will show in faculty and staff rosters for roll call, rather than Sandra. Entering a preferred name also provides Sam the ability to work with campus IT to update his email address and align it with his preferred name, further strengthening his sense of identity and community from the beginning of his time with CU. The Preferred name field, to be supported where legally and technically feasible, is just the beginning of CU’s support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning and Asexual or Ally (LGBTQA) students building identity and community within the Campus Solutions student system. In fall 2017, UIS intends for students to be able to classify their gender identity, strengthening the ability for faculty and staff to enhance the student experience for LGBTQA students.

For more information about name updates at the campus level, please refer to campus Registrar websites.

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