Canvas Chosen Name - Canvas Skip to main content

Canvas Chosen Name

As part of the University’s Chosen Name Initiative, effective September 1, 2022, Canvas will designate the chosen name to be utilized in the course of university business in lieu of their legal name.

A chosen or preferred name is a first name by which a person wishes to be known by in the university community that differs from their legal first name. A chosen name may or may not be associated with a gender transition.

Once a chosen name has been set, it may take 24 to 48 hours for Canvas to update. Additional information about the changing the Chosen Name can be found on the Rutgers University Equity and Inclusion Website.

Important Note: Chosen Name will not update Canvas name fields if you have manually changed your Full Name, Display Name and Sortable Name in the Canvas settings.

Once a name field is edited by the user inside Canvas LMS, it can only be updated again manually by the user or an administrator.

Name Fields in Canvas

There are three separate name fields in Canvas. These fields will be visible on different pages depending on the viewer.

  • Full Name is used for the Gradebook and Grades pages, Chat, People, and Reports.
  • Display Name is how other users will see your name in Announcements, Conferences, Conversations, and Discussions.
  • Sortable Name defaults to your last name, first name and appears in sorted lists so admins can search for it.

 

Changing the Name in Canvas

Reminder: Chosen Name will not update Canvas name fields if you have previously edited your name in Canvas.

Updating the Chosen Name can take 24 to 48 hours to update your account in Canvas. If your name in Canvas does not get updated by Rutgers, you can manually edit the name in the Canvas User Settings.

User Settings

Canvas User Settings allow you to make changes to your name, pronouns, default email, language, time zone.

To ensure the name is shown correctly through out Canvas, make sure the Full Name, Display Name and Sortable Name are all correct.

 

Additional Resources: