Managing Your Name/Gender

Current Bryn Mawr Students

Bryn Mawr Alumnae

Current Bryn Mawr Students

Name Types

The College uses two name types for all members of our community: Primary Name and Preferred Name.

Primary name is your legal name and must match the name on your Social Security Card, or for international students, the name on your Passport Identity Page. To update your Primary name with the College you must present a copy of your Social Security card (or passport for international students) with your new name to the Registrar’s Office.*

Note: Students employed by the College may be required to present their new Social Security card to the Student Employment Office as well.

Primary Name appears on the following:

Transcript
Student Employment Documents (include tax documents)
One Card (student identification card)

* The process of legally changing your name can take some time. While you are in process, you can update your preferred name to reflect your pending legal change. If you have any questions or concerns about your name change, please come to the Registrar’s Office.

Preferred name defaults to match your Primary name until you change it. You only need to update your preferred name if you use a name other than your legal name, and want that name to be used by the College community. You can update any or all parts of your name—first, middle and last names.

Preferred Name appears on the following:

Class Rosters
Student Center in BIONIC
Moodle Sites
Bryn Mawr Email

To change your Preferred name in BiONiC go to your “Profile.”

Go to “Personal Details” on the left navigation and then click on “Preferred Name.”

Edit your Preferred name and click “save.”

Things to keep in mind when changing your primary or preferred name:

College Communications: Both preferred and primary name are used in College communications by offices across campus. Please note that there is a possibility that a College office might send mail using a student’s preferred name to the home address listed in BiONiC.

Email: Your display name for email will match your preferred name in Bionic. You cannot change your display name in email to be different than your preferred name in Bionic.

User Name for College computing services: the user name associated with most of your College accounts is created based on your preferred name. Once your preferred name has been changed or if the change is in process, your user name can be changed as well.

OneCard (Student ID)

One Card pulls from a student’s “primary name” in BiONiC. Once your primary name has been changed or if the change is in process, you can request a new One Card. Note that your One Card can be used as your photo ID voting in Pennsylvania. For more information about voter registration go to http://www.brynmawr.edu/ceo/students/VoterRegistrationandVotingInformation.htm

Bryn Mawr College Health and Wellness Center

Medical records require the use of the patient’s legal name. Legal names also need to be used when ordering tests, medications, and therapeutic procedures. The Health and Wellness Center staff therefore requests a patient register using a legal name when signing in. We also request a “preferred” name. Health and Wellness Center staff aims to use a student’s preferred name in interactions with students.

Diploma

The Registrar’s Office allows all students to provide their name as it they would like it to appear on their diploma. The Diploma name is actually an additional name type and can be different from both the preferred and primary name. The Registrar’s Office staff emails students a form to complete during their senior year to specify their name for their diploma.

Changing your Gender Marker in BiONiC

A current student who has legal documentation reflecting a change of their gender marker may provide this documentation to Bryn Mawr’s Office of the Registrar (Eugenia Chase Guild building, lower level). Registrar staff will make the change in the student’s BIONIC Student Center. (Legal documentation might include, but is not limited to, a state-issued driver’s license or a court order.)

Bryn Mawr Alumnae/i

Alumnae/i may change their name or update other information at https://www.brynmawr.edu/#Gender. Name/gender marker changes for alumnae/i do not require official documentation* and gender marker, primary and preferred names may all be changed. Relationships as designated in BiONiC may also be changed (for example, on parents’ record, “daughter” may be changed to “son”). For questions or to update information not included on the form, such as gender marker, please send an email to bmcalum@brynmawr.edu.

*If you have been employed by the College, the earliest a change to primary name can be implemented without documentation is in January the year following your last day of employment.

BiONiC