SUNY Oswego is committed to acknowledging the diverse and inclusive ethos of our campus. This policy is intended to align with current SUNY guidance with the purpose of encouraging an environment for personal expression within community standards. SUNY Oswego recognizes the needs of students and employees who wish to be identified by a first name that differs from their legal name.
The SUNY Oswego chosen first name policy allows students and employees to officially notify the college of their chosen first names, and have this change reflected in on-campus communication systems, as long as the chosen first name is not used for purposes of misidentification, fraud or misrepresentation and that the chosen first name meets community standards (e.g. not profane, obscene, or derived from hate-speech; and conform to technical requirements). There are limits to where chosen first names will be reflected in college communications.
This policy is consistent with current Title IX guidance protecting students against discrimination based on gender identity and expression, and is a best practice for supporting transgender and gender non-conforming members of college communities. This service is not limited to use by transgender and gender non-conforming students and employees, however, and is available to anyone who uses a chosen first name on a daily basis other than their legal/primary first name.
The chosen first name is used for internal communication and certain external communications (e.g. website staff bio pages, sports information). Internal applications for the use of approved chosen first name include but may not be limited to: class rosters (including Blackboard), advising lists, housing lists, and email. SUNY Oswego ID Cards (employee/student identification cards) will display both legal and chosen first name. The College is obligated to use the legal first name for many official records and reports, including but not limited to: certain employment and payroll records, billing records, financial aid documents, official transcripts, diploma, medical records, employee benefits records, expense reimbursements, travel and purchasing authorizations, enrollment reporting, conduct hearing results, external reporting and federal immigration documents.
Requests for use of chosen first name shall be limited to one request per academic year. For more information about the chosen name policy contact: Lisa Evaneski, Title IX Coordinator ([email protected])