Members of the campus community who identify with a different name than their legal first name can now have their chosen first name displayed in a variety of College platforms.

Effective Aug. 1, 2018, students and employees will be able to have their chosen first name displayed in the following locations:

  • OAKS, our academic learning management system;
  • Email display name (for students and employees);
  • Self-Service Banner, including faculty members’ course rosters and advisee lists;
  • Students’ Degree Works degree audits;
  • Cougar Cards issued after August 20, 2018; and
  • Online College of Charleston directories.

The roll-out for these new name-display options will occur in phases, which began on July 29 and will continue through August.

If students, faculty or staff have a particular interest in using a chosen first name in one or more of these software systems, here is some additional information about the systems where this option will be offered:

  • Chosen first names will be recorded in Preferred First Name fields in our campus systems.
  • Software modifications will be made to display stored Preferred First Names on course rosters and advisee lists, in Degree Works, and in some cases, in the College’s online directory and email display names.
  • Additional Preferred First Names will display in the online directory and email display names in mid-August, when IT will send a large volume of data to specific ancillary systems.
  • Effective with the 2018 Fall Semester, Preferred First Names will be displayed in OAKS for students who have recorded their name of choice with the Office of the Registrar by completing a Preferred First Name Request form on or after Aug. 1. 
  • Students and employees will be able to have their Preferred First Names on their Cougar Cards starting sometime in August. Additional details will follow.
  • Student requests to record, change, or correct names should be made to the Office of the Registrar.
  • In addition to Preferred First Names, employees who are not also students may record a Professional Last Name that will display in your email and the College’s online directory. Employee requests to record, change, or correct names should be made in the Office of Human Resources.

A committee is working with several campus offices to create these new options for displaying names. Questions about these new functions may be directed to Deanna M. Caveny, associate provost for faculty affairs, or to any other member of the committee (Mary C. Bergstrom, registrar; Lynne E. Ford, associate vice president for the academic experience; Mary Person, senior business analyst, IT; and Eileen Raney, senior business analyst, IT).