Grand Rapids Community College announced on Aug. 11 that students now have the option to provide their preferred name and pronouns to the college before starting this fall. Students can also fill out the Preferred First Name Change Form and the Email Change Form to update this information or update their information in the Online Center under their profile title and biographical tab.
Any student who has had a legal name change can change their name with a driver’s license, state ID or other legal document by uploading it to their Online Center account. Once the GRCC Records office confirms the change, students can change their names within the college’s database.
Students previously had to submit a form to change their names, which the records department would review. The college also didn’t collect any information that states a student’s pronouns.
“Before the self-service was launched, preferred name changes could only be submitted by a form to the Student Records office which then was updated by the office’s staff,” stated Valerie Butterfield, GRCC Registrar, in an email to The Collegiate. “Now, students can provide their name from the Online Center.”
This means students do not need to come down to campus, and their student profile will immediately update).“
Since his start this past January, GRCC President Charles Lepper has been taking steps to ensure that GRCC is a welcoming and accepting campus. In a previous interview with The Collegiate, he said, “I think some of the conversations around equity and inclusion and a sense of belonging is one of the things that we need to continue to work on.”
You can find more information about these changes on the GRCC LGBTQ+ Resources page.
