Name Change on Transcript
Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) respects and celebrates different points of view, personal identities, and life experiences. The college believes that allowing students to use a name they prefer or have chosen is important because it helps meet the unique needs of students, teachers, and staff members, and it also promotes fairness for groups of people who have been treated unfairly in the past. When teachers and staff use the name that a student wants to be called by, it helps us work toward our goal of making sure everyone feels welcome, equal, and included in the college community.
Below learn how to change your name on your transcript whether because of a legal change or to have your diploma in your prefered name.
Frequently Asked Questions on Name Changes
The term “preferred name” refers to a name that an individual wishes to use which differs from their legal name on legal documents and/or differs from the name listed on a student’s original MHCC student record when it has not been changed legally.
A legal name is the name that appears on your birth certificate, passport, driver’s license, or Social Security card.
The reasons for choosing a preferred name that may be different from a legal name are personal and different for each individual.
Students may have many reasons for asking to have their preferred names, over their legal names, displayed on non-legal documents:
- Preferring to use a nickname or middle instead of their legal first name
- Choosing a name that aligns with their gender identity
- Desiring to use a “Western” or “Americanized” name rather than their legal name from another country
- Wanting a preemptive name change while in the process of legal divorce proceedings
- Distinguishing oneself from someone with a similar name
- Class Roster
- Administration systems (used by college staff)
- MYMHCC portal (used by college staff and students)
- Navigate (used by college staff and students)
- Blackboard (used by college staff and students)
- Unofficial transcripts
- Diplomas
Preferred names will appear in the following areas beginning in spring 2021:
- MHCC ID cards
- Saints email
Certain departments at MHCC communicate with and share information with federal, state, and other government organizations to confirm students' identities using their legal names and other personal details that can identify them. This means that students may not be able to use their preferred names in these interactions.
On documents like diplomas, transcripts, official student records, financial aid records, certification papers, student employment records, and immigration/SEVIS documents, your legal name will be displayed, not your preferred name.
Please know that this information is kept private and will only be used when there is a particular requirement to use your legal name.
Your legal name will be used in business processes necessitated by state/federal reporting, legal requirements and other activities that require use of a legal name. These include:
- Transcripts
- National student clearinghouse
- International programs documentation
- Financial aid
- Student Financial services documentation
- Studentand staff employment records
- Federal requests for information
- Academic certifications, enrollment and degree verifications
- Veteran administration documentation
To submit a Preferred Name Change Request form visit MyMHCC (see “Frequently Used Links”). This action does not require additional documentation.
To submit a legal name change there are a few more steps and requirements. Students who have never applied for financial aid can submit a change request in writing with identity documentation to [email protected]. Documentation must be a valid government issued photo ID (such as a passport, driver’s license, military identification card, etc.) and show your new name.
Students who have ever applied for financial aid, regardless of receiving aid, must submit the change request to the financial aid email (hyperlink to [email protected] office along with a signed copy of your social security card displaying the new name.
You may provide Mt. Hood Community College with a preferred name or update your preferred name anytime. It will take 24-48 business hours for the update to appear in the applications provisioned for preferred names.
Requests to add or change a preferred name are limited to once per year. Preferred names must adhere to database character standards used by MHCC systems.
After you add or change a preferred name, staff with an administrative need (e.g., police, health, financial services, student records, human resources or similar) may still see both a person’s legal and preferred names. As with other sensitive information, these staff members shall be trained on the implications of this access.
It is important to note that while MHCC takes great care in where preferred names display and when a preferred name is used, human and system error may occur, causing the incorrect name to display.
Students who experience problems or discrimination related to their preferred name may contact Mt. Hood Community College’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for resources and assistance. Contact: Traci Simmons, director of diversity, equity and inclusion and Title IX coordinator; [email protected]; 26000 SE Stark St., Gresham, OR, 97030; 503-491-7009.