Chosen Name
At The University of Winnipeg, we recognize that our students may wish to be addressed by a name different than their legal name, whether it be a middle name, a nickname, or a name that better aligns with their identity. We refer to this name as a chosen name.
Undergraduate students can declare a chosen name either on their Admissions application or through the Personal Update form - see Forms page. No additional documentation is required for a chosen name.
Students in Graduate Studies, PACE, ELP and The Collegiate can email their school’s Records department:
- Graduate Studies: Applicants: Dagmawit Habtemariam (d.habtemariam@uwinnipeg.ca). Accepted students: Eric Benson (e.benson@uwinnpeg.ca)
- PACE: paceregistration@uwinnipeg.ca
- ELP: infoelp@uwinnipeg.ca
- The Collegiate: collegiate@uwinnipeg.ca
We are working to expand our services to ensure that students are able to be identified by the name of their choosing.
Currently, your chosen name will be displayed in the following contexts:
- To your instructor on their class rosters (Self-Service/WebAdvisor)
- Examination nominal rolls
- To Student Services staff (Colleague & Awards Management software)
- To your classmates on Nexus (Learning Management System)
- To Accessibility Services staff in Clockworks (for those registered with AS)
- To the Recreation Services staff (in Fusion Rec Management software)
- To the Alumni and Foundation staff (upon graduation)
- To Library staff and in your library account information
- On your Student ID Card
Your legal name will continue to be used on the following:
- Letters of Acceptance
- Transcripts
- T2202 & T4A tax forms
- Degree Parchments
Please note: When students request a chosen name change, they may request for their existing account to be deleted so that a new webmail account can be issued using only the chosen name. In this instance, all documents, including emails and saved files associated with the former account will be deleted. As more work is done towards developing our policies and practices around the use of chosen names, additional areas where your chosen name will be displayed will be added to this website.
In deciding whether to use a chosen name, please keep in mind that future employers, licensing bodies or other educational institutions may require you to provide documentation that is issued to your legal name, such as your transcript or degree parchment.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can complete a Personal Update form and submit it to Student Central. Please provide appropriate documentation.
You can complete a Personal Update form and submit it to Student Central.
Your chosen name should be one that you want instructors, staff and classmates to use to identify you. Requests put forward by students that are made in good faith, do not contain offensive or derogatory terms, and have characters that can be entered into our information systems will be entered onto your student file.
Your name will be updated on their class roster, but they will not get a notification through their system. You will want to reach out to inform your instructor that they should now address you by your chosen name.
No, students are not required to indicate a chosen name if they wish to go by their legal name.
We are still developing our policy and adapting our technology to meet the needs of students with chosen names. We are hoping to expand the areas where we are able to use a chosen name. While it can be difficult for some students to continue to see the name with which they do not identify, there are some circumstances where we are required to continue to display your legal name for legal purposes.
If the person has had adequate notification of your chosen name, and makes no attempt to correct their behaviour, you can speak to The University of Winnipeg Human Rights and Diversity Office for assistance with mediating the issue (https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/respect/contact-us.html).
Class lists in Nexus and WebAdvisor as well as nominal rolls will show the student's chosen name, if a student has one, and the legal name if the student does not.