Regardless of the circumstances or reasons for using it, a student’s preferred name must reflect good judgement and must not cause a violation of the University’s standards of professionalism. For example, a student must not use a preferred name with an intent to impersonate someone else, to deceive, or to defraud; and preferred names cannot be a form of hate speech or inappropriate language.
The University reserves the right to not accept or remove a preferred name if it contains inappropriate, vulgar, discriminatory, or offensive language, creates confusion with another person or brand, constitutes a trademark law infringement, or if it otherwise violates the University’s policies. Generally using a preferred name may appear anywhere in the University’s system; however, there is no guarantee it will appear everywhere. Designating a preferred name as a default is highly restrictive and could impact academic and non-academic processes.
All preferred name changes must be approved by the Dean of Students. If approved, an ID badge depicting the preferred name will be printed. If the badge is printed prior to matriculation as the student’s initial badge, no charge will be incurred for the printing of the ID badge. However, if the approved name change badge needs to be printed after an initial ID badge has been provided, the student will be charged $25 for the replacement badge. The ID badge with the preferred name will provide access into buildings and will be able to store money as any student ID badge. The University disclaims any representation that the ID badge is or will be acceptable for any purposes outside of the University.