Preferred First Name Option for Employees

We are pleased to announce a new enhancement to our workplace culture that underscores our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging: the introduction of a preferred first name option in the employee Human Capital Management (HCM) self-service portal for CU Anschutz Medical Campus faculty and staff.

Many individuals have names that reflect their personal identity more accurately than their legal name. By allowing preferred first names, we are acknowledging and honoring each person’s chosen name, which helps in building stronger, more genuine connections between colleagues and creates a more inclusive and supportive environment.

A preferred first name differs from a legal name and beginning in November 2024, CU Anschutz will work toward using an employee’s preferred first name as the default name for CU Anschutz systems & software unless there is a regulatory or reporting requirement to use legal name. The migration of preferred first name will occur in phases and evolve over time.

A preferred first name may be a nickname, middle name, professional name that reflects publications or professional activities, anglicized name, a chosen name, or an affirming name that better aligns with an employee’s gender identity and expression.

Preferred names should be appropriate for the work setting and CU Anschutz reserves the right to remove a preferred name if it is deemed to be inappropriate or derogatory, e.g. it violates a university policy or code of conduct.

To update your preferred first name:

1. Go to my.cu.edu
2. From the CU Resources drop-down menu, select My Info and Pay
3. Click the My Info tile
4. Click Name on the left-side menu.
5. Click on the right arrow on the top-right of the Current box. A pop-up window will populate.
6. Enter your preferred name in the Preferred First Name field.
7. Select Save.

Some employees may have records in both the employee Human Capital Management (HCM) portal and the student information system. Since student records are separate from employment records, it requires the individual to update both systems otherwise a mismatch may occur in downstream systems.

An employee’s legal name remains required to complete certain university operations and communications including but not limited to background checks, employment verification, provision of health insurance and retirement benefits, payroll tax filings (W-2s, W-4s), state and federal reporting obligations, etc. For this reason, both the preferred first name and the legal name are maintained in CU Anschutz information systems.

While CU Anschutz’s goal is to migrate the preferred first name to as many systems as possible, employees should be aware that the use of legal name will continue to be necessary in many university operations and communications due to legal requirements or system limitations.

If an employee no longer wants to be associated with their current legal name, they may pursue a legal name change with the Colorado Judicial Branch. Once a legal name change has occurred, employees may update their legal name with Human Resources by following these guidelines.

Beginning in November 2024, the CU Anschutz Security Badging Office will begin using the preferred first name, if present in HCM, when creating ID badges for new employees.

When an employee enters a preferred first name into the HCM self-service portal, CU Anschutz will provide new log-in credentials and an updated email address. For more information about your directory listing and email address, contact the OIT Help Desk at 303-724-4357 (4-HELP).

It may be up to 3-5 business days for the preferred first name information to cascade from the HCM self-service portal to technology systems in the Badging Office, and that generate log-in credentials and email addresses.

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