Ohio University approves revisions for name policy

Ohio University has approved revisions to the policy for student names.

Approved during the spring semester, University Policy 12.021 Student Names allows students to determine the name that appears on their diplomas. Previously, legal names of students were used for diplomas.

The change was implemented prior to the 2022 Spring Commencement so that students could choose the name for their diplomas.

Students are required to provide their legal names on their applications for admission. Students may choose to use their legal name, an abbreviated version of their legal name, or they may provide a preferred (chosen) name when applying for graduation. The University reserves the right to remove a diploma name if it is used inappropriately or for misrepresentation.

OHIO students may also provide a preferred name and pronoun in the MyOHIO Student Center.

The preferred name and pronoun will be used in lieu of a legal name when it is not necessary for the legal name to be used. The preferred name and pronoun will be used across all University systems where available. 

For more information, please see this Ohio University policy webpage.