Recognizing that many COM community members use preferred first names other than their legal names to identify themselves, the College of Marin offers the option to use a preferred first name in some college systems and records. The college has established processes to accommodate preferred names, legal names, and gender identification. Please review the outline of our processes below.
Preferred First Name Changes
You may submit a "Preferred First Name" change via our Name Change form. Please keep in mind that our primary Student Information System (SIS) and HR records accommodate a Preferred First Name, but do not allow preferred middle or last name. Below we have outlined the steps that will be taken by the college to change your Preferred First Name as well as steps that you may need to complete individually.
College of Marin actions
Once you have submitted a "Preferred First Name" change request, the college will update the Preferred First Name field in our primary SIS database. Your Preferred First Name will then automatically replicate to most applicable internal and external applications. For a few applications, the college will need to manually push your Preferred First Name update. However, keep in mind that some applications, such as financial aid, still require that your legal name be used. Additionally, at least one application, Canvas, requires your assistance as described below.
User-initiated actions
- If you are a Canvas user, please login into your Canvas profile and click the Edit Settings button to update your "Display Name" within Canvas. Be sure to click Update Settings to save your changes. Please see our Canvas Profile & User Settings guide for detailed instructions.
Legal Name Changes
You may submit a "Legal Name" change via our Name Change form. A Legal Name change, which requires accompanying documentation, allows you to change your full name, including your first, middle and last names. Below we have outlined the steps that will be taken by the college to change your Legal Name.
College of Marin actions
Once you have submitted a "Legal Name" change request, the college will update the First Name, Middle Name and/or Last Name fields in our primary SIS database. These names will then automatically replicate to all internal and external applications with the exception that a Preferred First Name, if provided, will be replicated to certain applications as described above.
Username Changes
Please read carefully to make sure you understand the disruptive consequences of this change!
You use your MyCOM username to log into most of the college's internal applications as well as many external vendor-hosted applications. In some cases, your MyCOM username is used as the identifying key for an internal or external application; consequently, changing your MyCOM username may result in the creation of a new account, such that any prior user data may be lost. As much as possible, the college will work with you to preserve user data; however, the college has limited control/access to some external applications. The college strongly advises you to consider the potential of duplicate accounts, loss of user data, and/or unforeseen consequences before submitting any "Username" change request. Also, once a new username is assigned, your MyCOM email address will be updated to match your new username. Below we have outlined the steps that will be taken by the college to change your MyCOM username as well as steps that you may need to complete individually.
College of Marin actions
Once you have submitted a "Username" change request via our Name Change form, the college will review our primary SIS database to see what usernames are available. Our default naming convention uses the first initial of your first name/preferred first name + your last name. We append a random 4 digit number to student accounts only. However, users with common last names may run into conflict with other usernames with the same last name. In this case, we will look to see if adding your middle initial or the first few characters of your first name/preferred first name allows for a unique username. Please note that submitting a "Preferred First Name" change alone does not automatically trigger a "Username" change.
Once a unique username has been identified, the college will initiate a username change in our primary SIS database. Many of our subsidiary internal and external applications will be automatically updated with your new username; but only if the identifying key in that system is NOT your MyCOM username. For the remaining systems, the college will update your account with your new username whenever possible. However, please keep in mind that some systems will not allow the username to be changed so a new account/duplicate account will be created. Additionally, users will need to initiate updates to some external systems as described below.
User-initiated actions
- Login into Zoom with your new username to create a new Zoom account. As your username is the identifying key in this system, a new user account will be created and prior user history and scheduled meetings will be lost.
- If you have recently applied for Financial Aid, please email [email protected] to update your MyCOM email address with GlobalCore. GlobalCore provides the software that tracks financial aid requirements and allows you to upload applicable documentation.
Future Changes
As both internal and external applications continue to evolve, the strategies described above are likely to change over time. The college will adjust the actions described above when applicable to streamline our name change processes.