Print

Academic Record Revision Request: Gender Change

Introduction

Policy Statement

Academic record changes requested as a result of gender change require broader considerations than normal legal-name changes. In order to develop a consistent, university-wide approach to treating all such requests appropriately and coordinating efforts surrounding each person's documents, the University has adopted the following policy.

Applicability

This academic records policy applies to all current and former students (including alumni).

Policy

Current students may request through the University Registrar's office a change of name and gender. With appropriate legal documentation and a 'good faith' declaration by the student that this is a gender change, the gender and official name of record (both matriculation name and current name) will be changed in the database. Although the name will change in the record and on the transcript, the prior name will be maintained in the Washington and Lee's database and any previously existing paper records as a previous identity, in order to ensure that a search run on the former name will access the correct files.

Alumni and previous students may request through the University Registrar's office a change of name on their official student record as a result of gender change. With appropriate legal documentation and a 'good faith' declaration by the student that this is a gender change, the official name of record (both matriculation name and name at the time the student left the University) will be updated on the transcript. Although the name will changed in the record and on any transcript sent from the University Registrar's office, the prior name will be maintained in the Washington and Lee's database and any previously existing paper records as a previous identity, in order to ensure that a search run on the former name will access the correct files. The gender is not changed in previous students' academic records. Requests for a new diploma can be made using current W&L diploma replacement procedures.