Change of Name and Gender Identity

Legal Name and Gender Change

Dunwoody College recognizes and supports students to record a legal name and/or gender change.

Legal Name Change

Students who need to update their legal name in their official academic record submit a Student Information Change Form along with supporting legal documentation reflecting the change to the Registrar’s Office. Legal documentation could include one or more of the following: a valid driver’s license, court order, valid passport, or birth certificate. Upon receipt of the form and supporting documentation, the Registrar’s Office updates the student’s record in the student information system to reflect the new name.

Middle Name

Students may abbreviate their middle name(s) to the starting initial without documentation by emailing the Registrar's Office at registrar@dunwoody.edu. Documentation is required if a student is changing, adding, or deleting a middle name and follows the same process described in the Legal Name Change.

Legal Gender Change

Students who need to update their legal gender designation in their official academic record submit a Student Information Change Form, along with legal documentation reflecting the new gender to the Registrar’s Office. Acceptable legal documents are a valid driver’s license, court order, valid passport, or amended birth certificate. Documents that are not considered acceptable legal documents include documents from a medical or mental health professional or a notarized statement. Upon receipt of the supporting documentation, the Registrar’s Office will update the student’s record in the student information system to reflect the new gender.

Preferred Name and Gender Change

Dunwoody College recognizes and supports students who wish to be identified by a chosen name and/or gender identity that is different from their legal name or gender assigned at birth.

Chosen Gender Identity

Dunwoody College acknowledges some students use gender identities that are different from their legal gender to identify themselves. As long as the use of this gender identity is not for the purpose of misrepresentation, Dunwoody College acknowledges that a chosen gender identity should be used whenever possible. Students may update their chosen gender in the student profile on My.Dunwoody.

Gender changes will be reviewed by the Registrar’s Office, and once approved, will appear in the student's academic record and My.Dunwoody profile, which is only viewable by the student. Transcripts and diplomas do not indicate a student's gender identity. The College reserves the right to remove a gender identity if it is used inappropriately.

Students can also select and update pronouns in Canvas by editing their profile at any time.

Preferred Name Change

Students who wish to submit a preferred or used name change can update their information in my.dunwoody.edu (located in Launchpad) in the profile settings. Preferred name changes will be reviewed by the Registrar’s Office, and once approved, will be on the student's official academic record and used by a variety of Dunwoody's IT systems and lists. If a preferred name change is not approved, the Registrar's Office will contact the student.

Changing your preferred name does not change your legal name with Dunwoody College of Technology for records where legal names are required. Below is a listing of the areas where your preferred name will appear (once processed by the Registrar and IT offices) and areas in which your legal name will still appear.

Preferred First Name May Appear

Canvas (gradebook, assignment and assessment submissions, and discussion board display names)

My.Dunwoody (class rosters, attendance, advisee lists, and grades)

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Commencement Program 
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Dean’s List 
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Diploma 
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Honors Lists to Phi Theta Kappa*
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Phone/Text Communications from the College

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Housing Rosters
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Library Records
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Microsoft 365 applications
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Locations Requiring Additional Student Requests
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Student ID Card
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Student email
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Students can submit a ticket to the ServiceNow Portal located in Launchpad requesting changes to either or both of these two items.

Legal First Name will Appear

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Admissions Decision Letters 
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Financial Aid and Billing Communication & Records

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Official and Unofficial Transcripts
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Registrar’s Office Records (i.e. permanent student file records)

Study Abroad (including, but not limited to, travel documents and contracts)

Human Resources for Student Workers (including the time entry system, paychecks and paystubs, and new hire forms)

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Housing Contracts
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Other legal forms or official correspondence from the College

Processing Time

While the main student information system is updated immediately, not all systems that rely on the student information system update student record changes immediately. Some update nightly, some update weekly, and some update only once per semester.

Notes

Handshake, Dunwoody's Career Services platform, does not receive updates from Dunwoody's student information system. Students can change their name to a preferred name by logging into their Handshake account.

* Dunwoody provides Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) with a list of eligible students (cumulative GPA higher than 3.5) at the end of fall and spring semesters. Dunwoody provides PTK with a student's preferred name, primary address, primary phone, and Dunwoody email. See Directory Information for more information about what Dunwoody shares.