Ferris State University has activated a preferred name policy for students and other members of the campus community that will be reflected on a number of university resources.

As reported by Ferris State’s student publication, The Torch, the preferred name policy will be reflected on a range of student records, but there will be boundaries. Preferred name changes will not appear on legal documents like financial aid records, health records, employee health insurance, IRS forms and social security forms.

Per the official policy, any Ferris State community member may choose to identify themselves on campus with a preferred first name that differs from their legal name. The policy also stipulates that preferred names will be printed on the fronts of student ID cards, but legal names will continued be printed on the backs of all campus cards.

Preferred first names at Ferris State will appear on the following forms:

• Class rosters
• Wait lists
• Final and mid-term grades
• Grade changes
• Advisee lists
• Registration status
• University ID cards (with legal name printed on back)
• Diploma

In an interview with The Torch, Associate Dean of Enrollment Services, Elise Gramza, says that the biggest struggle in implementing the preferred name policy was the backend work with the student information systems. The policy had been in the works for two years, and once the technical requirements were met, the development and approval of the policy was finalized in few short months.

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