Pronoun & Preferred Name Usage
Carnegie Mellon acknowledges that a student's preferred name and their pronouns can and should be used internally and be available to CMU community members (faculty and staff advisors) where possible in the course of university business and education.
CMU's student information system (SIO and S3) will transfer one first-name data field to most internal systems - either the preferred name if designated in SIO, or the official first name if a preferred name is not designated. Exceptions to this practice are made where the student’s official first name is required, including with student health services, CMU housing and financial documents/reporting; in these instances or any others that are required, both the official first name and the preferred name will be shared in a regular data transfer.
The table below reflects where pronouns, preferred names and official names display.
Questions about pronoun and preferred name usage may be directed to the University Registrar's Office.
Location |
Pronouns Entered into NameCoach via SIO |
Preferred Name Entered into SIO* |
Official Name as Displayed in SIO/S3 |
| Academic Records | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is displayed on the Unofficial Academic Record. | Official name is displayed on Transcripts, and Official Enrollment and Degree Verifications. |
| Alumni Relations | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred and official names are displayed; preferred name is used for internal email communications. | Preferred and official names are displayed. |
| Athletics Rosters | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is displayed to athletic staff who have access to a student's information. | Official name is displayed if no preferred name is designated. |
| Canvas Course Rosters | Pronouns are displayed (when designated) to TAs and teaching instructors. | Preferred name (when designated) is displayed to TAs and teaching instructors. | Official name is displayed to TAs and teaching instructors if no preferred name is designated. |
| CMU Directory Information (available to the public) | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is displayed. Students can choose to not have directory information published by submitting a form. | Preferred name will display if one is designated in SIO; otherwise official name is displayed. |
| CMU Library System | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is not displayed. | Official name is displayed. |
| Communications from Enrollment Management Offices | Pronoun usage is generally avoided; in cases where pronouns cannot be avoided, AP Style guidelines are followed in which "they/them/their" pronouns are used. | Preferred name is used for direct internal student communications (phone calls, email, etc.). | Official name is used in direct communications to parents/family members (phone calls, email, etc.) and where required by federal regulations (federal financial aid documents). |
| Computing Services Tools (Zoom, Google Mail) | Pronouns are not displayed unless student/user chooses to display them. | Preferred name is displayed. | Preferred name is displayed if one is designated in SIO. |
| Counseling and Psychological Services Medical Records | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred and official names are displayed on medical records. | Preferred and official names are displayed on medical records. |
| Handshake Student Profile | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is displayed, unless students request that official first name displays instead. | Official name is displayed by request only or if no preferred name is designated. |
| Housing/Residential Rosters & Contract | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred and official names are displayed on internal residential rosters; preferred name is used in the Housing Portal on roommate search pages, as well for all internal communications to the students (emails, phone calls, etc.) |
Official name is displayed on the Housing Contract. An official photo ID is required for hard key and CMU ID Card pick-up, so official and preferred names are used during that process. |
| My Plaid Student | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is not displayed. | Official name is displayed. |
| Payroll Systems | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is not displayed. | Official name is displayed (required). |
| PowerFAIDS (financial aid system) | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is used for internal CMU purposes and direct communication with the student (phone calls, email, etc.). | Official name is required for state/federal reporting, financial aid processing, and financial aid award letters. |
| S3 (CMU's internal student information system) | Pronouns are displayed (when designated) to authorized administrative and advising S3 users only. | Preferred name is displayed (when designated) underneath the official name in the S3 header on all Student Summary pages, which are accessible to authorized administrative and advising S3 users only. | Official name is displayed in the S3 header on all Student Summary pages, which are accessible to authorized administrative and advising S3 users only. |
| S3 Faculty Course & Grade Rosters | Pronouns are displayed (when designated) to TAs and teaching instructors. | Preferred name is displayed (when designated) in S3 Course and Grade Rosters, and is accessible to TAs and teaching instructors. | Official name is displayed in S3 Course and Grade Rosters (only if preferred name is not designated), and is accessible to TAs and teaching instructors. |
| Stellic Degree Audit | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is displayed to the student and authorized advisors. | Official name is displayed if no preferred name is designated in SIO. |
| Student Account & Invoices | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred name is used for direct communication with the student (phone calls, email, etc.). | Official name is required to be used on student account-related documents (i.e., invoices, refund checks) |
| Student ID Card | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred first and official last name are displayed on the front of the card; official first and last name are displayed on the back of the card. | If preferred name is not designated in SIO, then official first and last name are displayed on the front of the card. |
| Student Information Online (SIO) | Pronouns are displayed to the student. | Preferred name is displayed to the student. | Preferred and official names are displayed to the student. |
| University Health Services Medical Records | Pronouns are not displayed. | Preferred and official names are displayed on medical records. | Preferred and official names are displayed on medical records. |
*If a Preferred Name is not designated by the student in SIO, then the Official Name is used.