Chosen Name and Pronouns

The University of Michigan recognizes that many people use names and pronouns other than their legal ones to identify themselves and affirms that chosen names and pronouns can and should be used wherever possible throughout the university. Under university policy, student, staff, or faculty members may use chosen names (in addition to their legal name) and pronouns in the university’s information systems to be used in most communication and reporting except where the legal name is required by law or university requirements.

It is recommended that campus offices review the use of names for their internal business processes and reporting. Offices that retrieve name data from the Student Information System and affiliated APIs should develop plans to begin using chosen names as soon as possible.

Chosen Name

Chosen names (sometimes referred to as preferred names) are collected in the online admissions process and may be created, changed, or deleted by the individual in the system afterward at any time. Anyone is free to identify the chosen name they want to be known by in the university's information systems. However, inappropriate use of the chosen name policy (including but not limited to avoiding a legal obligation or misrepresentation) may be cause for denying the request. For details on how to change your chosen name, click here. (link)

For the purpose of university records, university and personal information will proceed to be linked to both the individual’s legal and chosen name. In places such as class rosters, MCommunity, McCard, Degree Works, My UM-Dearborn, Student Information System (Banner), Canvas, Admissions Communications, and University Email, the chosen name will be given priority.

Pronouns

The UM-Dearborn Student Information System (Banner) allows students, faculty, and staff to select from one of three options for pronouns:

he/him/his (ex. He is a student at UM-Dearborn.)
she/her/hers (ex. She is a student at UM-Dearborn.)
they/them/theirs (ex. They are a student at UM-Dearborn.)

Pronouns entered into the student information system will be used in other areas where possible, though pronouns may need to be set individually in many systems at this time.

Legal Name

Legal name is the name that is listed on official identification and related documents. This is usually a name given by parents or legal guardians at birth. Legal names can be changed at the state and federal level through court petition - more information can be found at the CSJI (2170 Renick University Center). If you have gone through the process of a legal name change, you can change your legal name with the University of Michigan - details on this process can be found here (link). (Link to Parent Page—Name Change)

Legal vs. Chosen

Where will your legal name be used?

Diploma
SEVIS (immigration status reporting)
Enrollment/Degree Verification
Student Accounts
Financial Aid
Transcript
Federal and State Agency Reporting VA Certification
Human Resources/Employment
Back of Mcard

Where will your chosen name be used?

My UM-Dearborn
Front of McCard
Degree Works Student Information System (Banner)
Canvas
MCommunity
Class rosters
Admissions Communications
University Email

UM-Dearborn users who wish to change their chosen name or pronouns should do so in up to three different systems to ensure the correct information is used in as many areas as possible:

The Student Information System (Banner)

UM-Dearborn students, faculty, and staff should set their chosen name and pronouns in the student information system. The information entered in the student information system will be used by most UM-Dearborn systems.

To change your chosen name in the student information system:

Login to the personal information section of the student information system
Click on "Edit" to edit your Personal Details
Make your desired changes and click "Update"

MCommunity

UM-Dearborn students, faculty, and staff should set their preferred name in the Chosen Name field and pronouns in the Pronouns field in MCommunity. Preferred names will appear at the top of the person's MCommunity Directory profile and under Also Known As. Pronouns will appear beneath the person's name.

For details about setting information in MCommunity, see the About Your MCommunity Profile: View and Edit page.

The legal name will continue to be displayed in the list of Also Known As names in the directory profile, even if a preferred name is utilized. Contact the ITS Service Center (734-764-4357) to request hiding of the legal name.

Wolverine Access (Faculty, Staff, and Student Employees Only)

UM-Dearborn faculty, staff, and student employees should also set their preferred name and pronouns in Wolverine Access. The preferred name entered in Wolverine Access will be used by Human Resources and other central U-M systems. Users must set their preferred name and pronouns in Wolverine Access to avoid having changes in the student information system being overwritten by daily system syncs.

For details about setting information in Wolverine Access, see the chosen name page and the pronouns page.

MCard

If a preferred name change is completed in the systems mentioned above and a new MCard displaying that new preferred name is desired, please contact Kris Day and/or CSJI for the most up to date MCard name change procedures.