Chosen Name & Sex

How to change your name

Primary Name

To update your Primary Name due to a legal name change, please visit the Registrar’s Office located on the first floor of the Foster Administration Building or submit an inquiry for assistance. You will be required to provide one legal item of supporting documentation to complete this process. Examples include:

passport
driver’s license
birth or marriage certificate
US Social Security Card
legal name change court documentation

Please note: Primary Name will be used in university-related systems, documents, and reports which require legal name.

Chosen Name

Students may choose to display a Chosen Name instead of their Primary Name in select university-related systems and documents, provided that the Chosen Name is not being used for the purpose of misrepresentation. Chosen Names that are not administratively possible to implement, including, without limitation, symbols or images, are prohibited. The university reserves the right to remove any Chosen Name without prior notice to the individual due to misuse or abuse of this chosen name policy, including, but not limited to, misrepresentation, attempting to avoid legal obligations, or the use of highly offensive or derogatory names.

Degree (Diploma) Name

Degree Name is the name that will appear on your diploma and on the Commencement Bulletin listing.

To Add or Change a Chosen Name or Degree Name, students must navigate in COIN to:

COIN Student Center > Personal Information > Names

Click on Edit if name type already exists and update as appropriate. If name type does not exist, select Add a new name and update fields as appropriate.
Click Save in the lower right corner of the page.

Important note: Chosen Name displays at the top of each page in COIN and the Authorized Access pages. This means if you grant parent(s), family members, legal guardian(s) or other designees’ access to COIN, those who have been granted access as well as faculty and staff will see your Chosen Name versus your Primary Name.

Who can view your Chosen Name?

Chosen Name is used in the following systems and records:

COIN including Class Roster, Academic Advisement Report
MyCourses
UMass Pass (PDF)
UMass Dartmouth Email (request alias via IT Help Case and select Access Management from the menu options)
Advising
Housing
Library
Chancellor's and Dean's List Notifications
Alumni Relations

Primary Name will be used for official university records, including but not limited to the following:

Legal documents
Student Account Statement (Bills)
Financial aid and scholarship awards
Transcripts
Enrollment and degree verifications
Student Employment documents
Employment and Degree verifications
Federal and State agency reporting
Human Resources benefit information
SEVIS (Immigration status reporting)
Health records
Paychecks, W-2s, or other payroll documents

Change of Sex

UMass Dartmouth recognizes that sex is a biological category that uses biological language. In addition to M (Male), F (Female), the marker “X” is available to non-binary, intersex, trans, and gender-nonconforming individuals. Formerly, this category was listed as “gender” in COIN.

To view your Sex:

Log into COIN Self-Service > Homepage > Personal Information icon > Right Menu > Demographic Information

To update your Sex:

If your Sex needs to be updated, contact the Registrar’s Office located on the first floor of the Foster Administration Building or submit an inquiry for assistance. Legal documentation is required to update your Sex, such as a driver’s license, passport or legal document with the updated Sex.