Trans at SMU

GENDER INCLUSIVE HOUSING OPTIONS THROUGH ON CAMPUS HOUSING 

Our Residence Life and Student Housing (RLSH) Department has committed to providing gender-inclusive housing to students and fostering a diverse membership and dynamic community on the Hilltop. For your convenience, they have outlined their standard practices so that you can find the best housing fit for you at SMU. Information about your options through on-campus housing can be found here or by contacting the Center Staff at womenandlgbtcenter@smu.edu

ASSISTANCE IN FINDING AN LGBTQ+ AFFIRMING ROOMMATE  

Our housing preference survey helps students indicate their openness in living with and supporting LGBTQIA+ students. Once you fill out that survey, the Housing Operations team matches students accordingly to the best of what is possible, and students should be matched with equivalent preferences. If you are particularly concerned about your potential roommate, or would like to speak to someone regarding housing, you can contact the Center's staff at womenandlgbtcenter@smu.edu or you can email housing@smu.edu.

Legal Name

If you have a change in name, you must provide the University Registrar’s Office with your Social Security card, the form issued by the Social Security Administration, or a valid passport. Enrollment or records services for the student under a name different from the last enrollment cannot be accomplished without one of the above documents. All transcripts and diplomas are issued only under a person’s legal name as recorded by the University Registrar’s Office.

  • If you wish to use a name other than your legal name, you can add a preferred name to your file, or update a preferred name already on file, using the self-service functions in the my.51³Ô¹ÏÍøStudent Homepage.
    • The University will make efforts to use your preferred name in communications and in the course of university business. However, there are situations that due to business practices, legal requirements or system limitations the use of a primary/legal name will be used.
  • A preferred name is a first, middle and/or last name that may be chosen to be used instead of legal first, middle and last name.
    • There is no documentation required to create or change a preferred name.
    • The University advises that if you choose to use a preferred name, you should use it consistently and resist changing it frequently.
  • 51³Ô¹ÏÍøhas many offices that keep records with student names and many data systems used for specific applications.
    • In addition to updating their preferred name in my.SMU, you may need to notify some offices regarding your use of a preferred name.

Here is a partial list of standard name usage:

Display name – my.51³Ô¹ÏÍøStudent Homepage Preferred name, if provided
Instructor Class Roster Preferred name, if provided
Instructor Grade Roster Preferred name, if provided
Canvas Preferred name, if provided
Global Directory of email addresses Preferred name, if provided
51³Ô¹ÏÍøonline directory Preferred name, if provided
51³Ô¹ÏÍøID Card Primary (legal) name – under review
Financial Aid related forms and documents Primary (legal) name
Official Academic Transcript Primary (legal) name
Diploma Primary (legal) name or derivative
Degree Verifications Primary (legal) name
Housing / Residence Life Preferred first name, Primary last name
SEVIS Reporting (international students) Primary (legal) name
 
*The above information can be found in the .

There are several gender inclusive single stall restrooms on campus for those who may need them. You can find a campus map listing all the gender inclusive restrooms on the interactive campus here: Gender Inclusive Restrooms. Also, due to new construction and renovations of existing buildings, there may be restrooms that are not included in this list. Please email us at womenandlgbtcenter@smu.edu with any updates to this list.