How WPI Systems Manage your Name

Sharing Your Name

In addition to your legal name, WPI supports an optional lived first name and last name. A lived name is also known as "preferred name" (as labeled in Workday), "chosen name" or a "name I go by".

Faculty, staff, students, and recent alums can use Workday to create or change their preferred name. Instructions are in Workday Contact and Personal Information (see Related Article).

Former students who do not have access to Workday can fill out the Name/Gender Change Form (see Actions).

Please note: If guardians or parents are granted access to your Workday account, they are able to see name changes. You are not required to provide access to your Workday account.

Gender Identity and Pronouns

You can share your gender identity and pronouns in Workday. Instructions are in Workday Contact and Personal Information (see Related Article).  

Legal Name and Gender

Your legal name is used where legally required or by business necessity, including but not limited to transcripts, financial aid documents, insurance claims, medical records, immigration information, passport/visa/immigration documents, tax forms, government reporting, and loan documents.

To see where you can expect to see your legal name, see the list below.

Students and employees who wish to change their legal name or gender can do so by logging into Workday and typing “Change My Legal Name” in the search bar and follow the steps. This process requires documentation, which can include, for example, a certified copy of a court order, a legal copy of a government issued ID with new name/gender, a notarized name change affidavit, a certified copy of a marriage license, a copy of a social security card with updated name, or a certified copy of a divorce decree with new name.

Merit Pages Publication of Student Achievements

WPI’s Merit Pages (Actions) uses student data to publish stories about student achievements. This information is sent out to students’ hometown media, parents, local government representatives, and high schools. Merit defaults to using student legal names. Students who want their preferred/lived name used instead must manually change it in their Merit profile. (Actions) Students who have legally changed their name should verify their name usage in their Merit profile and make any changes necessary. Students may also opt-out of Merit publications at any time.

Diploma Name

Use of your legal name on your diploma is recommended but is not required. Using your legal name will help you if an employer or government wants to match your diploma to your academic record. Please note that your diploma name is the name that will be read at commencement if you participate and will also appear in the commencement program. Changes can be made to your diploma name after it is submitted. If you have applied to graduate but have not yet graduated, contact registrar@wpi.edu.

If you have already graduated, order a new diploma using  Replace Diploma (see Actions). Please note that your name will not change in any previously published commencement program.

Email

Once you make a name change in Workday (legal or preferred) your display name for your email will update as well. If you are a current student or employee and want to change your username/email address, you must make a request for that to happen. These changes must be in accordance with the WPI Username Standard (see Related Article). Emails sent to your previous email address will be forwarded to your new email address. To make this request, contact the following individuals:

• Current students: Contact Lauren Buffone, CARE Team Case Manager, lbuffone@wpi.edu.
• Current employees: Contact the Division of Talent & Inclusion, talent@wpi.edu.
  

University Directory

Your lived name will show up in search results, class rosters, Workday, Canvas, and most correspondence.

Because there are some students who have not disclosed their lived name to their families, once you have updated your preferred name in Workday, mail sent from WPI to your home address will typically still use legal name.

ID Card

You can request a new identification card displaying a new legal or preferred name and an updated photo by contacting ID Services. For students, the replacement fee will be waived. To do so, contact Lauren Buffone, CARE Team Case Manager, lbuffone@wpi.edu, who can approve the fee waiver. Then follow the instructions at ID Services (see Actions).

Updating your photo in Workday

If you are a current student worker or employee and you want to update your photo in Workday, you can do so by searching “Change My Photo” in the Workday search bar. If you are a student who is not employed on campus, contact Lauren Buffone, CARE Team Case Manager, lbuffone@wpi.edu and include a replacement headshot.

Digital WPI Publications

If you change your name before publishing on Digital WPI, the information should populate correctly. There are ways to change the way your name appears in publications published on Digital WPI if your name-change occurs after publishing. The process and policy are linked in the WPI Student Projects: Submission Process: FAQ #14 (see Actions).

For students:

• Join or update distribution lists of interest using Manage Membership to Distribution Lists (see Related Article).
• Check the Outlook related groups you belong to in order to ensure your membership is carried over.
  

For faculty and staff:

• Notify the Registrar who can update your information in the graduate and undergraduate catalog.
• Talk with your department administrative assistant about updating department directories.
  
• Submit IT Service Desk tickets to: 
  
  • Request update to your faculty/staff page and the address for the page on the WPI website.
    
  • Request Telecommunications to change your name that shows when you call someone using the WPI phone system.
    
  • Re-request access to any shared network drives and printers you may have had access to if you have a username change.
    
• Update your voicemail name.
  
• For any grants where you’re a PI or Co-PI, the name you applied for the grant under will remain in Workday. For many granting agencies, you can apply using your lived name.
  
• Join or update distribution lists of interest using Manage Membership to Distribution Lists (see Related Article).
  
• Any special software licenses you may have (ex. Adobe Creative Cloud) may need to be reissued to you if your username changes.
  
• If there is past press coverage where your name should be updated contact Colleen Wamback cbwamback@wpi.edu.
  
• Check the Outlook related groups you belong to in order to ensure your membership is carried over.
  

The chart below explains when lived/preferred names versus legal names are used in WPI managed systems. 

Workday is the system of record for legal name and lived/preferred name. Workday starts with legal name and if no preferred name is indicated, all systems will display legal name.

If you notice other systems or software that are not listed, or if you notice any issues in how your name is displayed in a particular system, please email Emily Perlow, Associate Dean of Students at eperlow@wpi.edu.

Auto Updated = When you change your name in Workday, the system gets automatically updated with your new name. This can sometimes take several days.

Contact = When you change your name in Workday, systems do not get updated. You need to initiate the change.

For students, contact Lauren Buffone, CARE Team Case Manager, lbuffone@wpi.edu. 

For employees, contact the Division of Talent & Inclusion, talent@wpi.edu.

Manual = System will display preferred name, but you manually update that in that system.

Frequently Used Systems

Other Systems 

Systems Under Review

• Nelnet
• Class Climate
• Flywire
  
• Cherwell
  
• Database (DBMS)
  
• T2 Parking
• Hometown Tickets
  
• Slate
  
• Tableau
• Salesforce
• PeopleGrove
• QTrak (Mailroom App) 
  
• Oscar

This page will be updated with additional systems/information.