A preferred first name is one that you choose to be called that is different from your legal/primary first name usually assigned at birth.
Pronouns are linguistic tools used to refer to people, such as she/her/hers, they/them/theirs and he/him/his. These reference terms typically imply gender for example she/ her implying reference to a girl/woman/female. These references may not always align with how the person identifies. The opportunity to self- indicate one’s pronoun is important to respecting individual choice and identity.
Students have the option to enter their gender identity in the user profile.
New York State’s Gender Recognition Act of 2021 paved the way for individuals to select gender X on their driver’s licenses, state IDs, and birth certificates. New York State law also now requires that all state agencies that collect sex or gender data to offer individuals the X option for sex for state collection purposes.
- Gender Identity: One’s gender identity is the internal deeply held sense of one’s gender which may or may not be the same as one’s sex assigned at birth. Gender identity information is independent of a student’s legal sex.
- Legal Sex: Is the sex assigned based on biological, hormonal, and genetic characteristics, usually assigned at birth and included in such legal documents as birth certificates, passports, drivers license and other legal documents. This is based on binary option of Male or Female.
There are three separate components to a Potsdam email addresses: username, display name and email address.
Example: "John Smith" | smithsj125@potsdam.edu
Display Name: John Smith
User Name: smithsj125
Email Address: smithsj125@potsdam.edu
Our existing portal has set limitations on the number of options that can be included per response field. While the existing selection is not exhaustive, due to the limitations of our portal(s), our campus is committed to making this service available to our students.
No. An approved chosen name does not change your legal name in University systems.
| Platforms, Rosters, Documents | Preferred/Chosen First Name | Gender Identity | Chosen Pronouns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner/BearPAWS | X | X | X |
| Starfish | X | ||
| Class Rosters | X | X | |
| Health Service Records | X | X | X |
| Human Resources | X | X | X |
| Email Display Name | X | ||
| Campus ID/Meal Card | X | ||
| University Police | X | X | X |
| Athletic Rosters (along with legal name for NCAA compliance) | X | X | X |
Your legal name will be used in documentation and business transactions that require use of legal name.
- Student Accounts
- Financial Aid Documents
- National Student Clearinghouse
- Transcripts
- Human Resources employment records, payroll, employee reports
- Athletic Rosters (Where required for NCAA compliance)
- International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) documents
No. Only you as a Potsdam student choose and change your chosen personal information.
- Students can choose any name they wish to adopt with the exception of any name could be considered inappropriate or offensive language
- SUNY Potsdam reserves the right to remove a chosen name if it contains inappropriate or offensive language.
- Chosen names may not be used for purposes of fraud or misrepresentation
- Students found misusing this policy will be subject to student conduct guidelines and may incur the cost of replacing campus ID cards.
School officials may have access to personally identifiable information (PII) as necessary to perform their educational and administrative duties. However, all officials are bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations, which require strict protection of student privacy and limit the disclosure of PII to authorized individuals and circumstances permitted by law. Go online for additional information on FERPA and here for your rights to request to withhold the release of information to non-college personnel.
- Students can access BearPAWs and navigate to the "Personal Information" menu
- From there, click on the "Request Preffered/Chosen First Name" link
- Enter Preferred/Chosen First Name
Upon successful submission, the Dean of Students will be notified that a request for a preferred/chosen name has been made. The Dean of Students will either approve or reject the request, but the student will be notified either way via email.
Please note that this implementation process is currently on-going on our campus as we work to integrate this across campus systems. While our portal settings include regularly scheduled automated data updates, depending on the day and time new information is entered or any system repairs and technical challenges, your changes may not appear immediately. If your changes fail to appear following a 72-hour period (3- Business Days) please contact the Registrar's Office or ?
Your ID will include your legal name in the front and your preferred name on the reverse side.
Students are only allowed to change their preferred names only once per year.