Confirming a Student's Identity
You must verify a student's identity before releasing nondirectory information to them.
If a student comes to you in person and wants to discuss their nondirectory information:
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Unless you know the student, ask for a photo ID to verify their identity.
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If they don't have one, ask them to state their established security passphrase. Verify it in Campus Solutions or the MyCUInfo Faculty Center (under Faculty Toolkit, click Go to Faculty Center).
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If they haven't established a passphrase yet, you may ask them to do so while you wait.
If a student contacts you over email and wants to discuss their nondirectory information:
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If they're using their colorado.edu email address, then a security passphrase is not required (see Sending Student Data Electronically).
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If they're using another address, ask them to provide their established security passphrase. Verify it in Campus Solutions or the MyCUInfo Faculty Center (under Faculty Toolkit, click Go to Faculty Center).
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If they haven't established a passphrase yet, you may ask them to do so while you wait.
If a student contacts you over the phone or online chat and wants to discuss their nondirectory information:
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Ask them to provide their student ID number and established security passphrase.
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Look up the student's record in Campus Solutions or the MyCUInfo Faculty Center (for step-by-step instructions, see Security Passphrase Business Practices).
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If the passphrase...
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Matches, you may provide the requested information.
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Doesn't match, see if the student has a red privacy flag on their record.
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If they do, you must respond, "We have no information about this person."
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If they don't, do not reveal that the password is incorrect. Instead, tell the student how to look up their passphrase (see Set Your Security Passphrase for step-by-step instructions).
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Doesn't exist, see if the student has a red privacy flag on their record.
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If they do, you must respond, "We have no information about this person."
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If they don't, you may ask the student to set one while you wait or call back once they have.
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Addressing Students Inclusively
CU Boulder recognizes that students’ legal information doesn't always align with how they identify. To support diversity, equity and inclusion, CU systems allow students to specify their gender identity, name pronunciation, preferred name, pronouns and/or sexual orientation.
If provided, students’ personal information is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and access to it is restricted to staff who have a legitimate educational interest and have completed student data privacy training.
Name Pronunciation
CU Boulder offers NameCoach, a tool that allows users to record themselves saying their name. We encourage you to listen to your students' recordings to help you address them appropriately.
Once a student has recorded their name or provided the phonetic spelling, that information will be available to instructors through Canvas.
In the future, we plan to integrate the pronunciation tool into additional on-campus systems, including class listings, the campus directory and commencement proceedings.
If this integration could be useful in other campus platforms or use cases, please email us your ideas.
Preferred Names
A student's preferred name is one that differs from their legal name. It could be a nickname, professional name, anglicized name or name that better aligns with the student's gender identity.
Where technically and legally feasible, preferred names are displayed instead of primary (legal) names in university systems and records and are used to identify students in the classroom and other places on campus.
After a student designates a preferred name, you'll see it used in the following university systems and records:
- Class and grade rosters (used by faculty)
- Advisee rosters (used by advisors; also displays primary name)
- Unofficial transcripts
- Degree audits
- Buff Portal
- Learning management systems (Canvas)
- Housing systems (StarRez)
- Health & Wellness Services
Preferred names are not used in external or third-party communications.
Pronouns
Personal pronouns are used in place of specific nouns for people, places and things. For example, we refer to a group of people with the pronouns they (subjective case), them (objective case) and their (possessive case).
To refer to an individual, it's respectful to use whichever pronouns they prefer. For example, someone who identifies as transgender may prefer the pronouns ze, zir and zirs, rather than those associated with their legal sex.
Student-identified pronouns are available to authorized faculty and staff members in Campus Solutions in the following areas:
- Admin Class Rosters (Curriculum Management > Class Roster > Class Roster)
- Admin Grade Rosters (Curriculum Management > Grading > Grade Roster)
- Faculty Toolkit Class Rosters (MyCUInfo's Teaching Tools tab)
- Faculty Center Class and Grade Rosters (MyCUInfo's Teaching Tools tab > "Go to Faculty Center" link)
- Advisee Roster (Self Service > Advisor Center > My Advisees)
- Buff Portal Advising (In the advisor flyout next to the student's name; if the student has not identified their pronouns, that area will be blank.)
If you don't have access to this information, it's appropriate to ask the student what pronouns they use.
When provided, it's important for faculty and staff to know and use a student's identified pronouns rather than make an assumption based on the student's name or appearance.
Asking for and correctly using someone's pronouns shows your acknowledgment and respect for their gender identity.
If a student provided their pronoun information to the university and you or another faculty or staff member forgot to use it, simply apologize and remember to use their correct pronouns moving forward. Encourage others to do the same (e.g., in class, in student groups).
Although CU doesn't consider pronouns to be highly sensitive data, only authorized school officials (e.g., staff, advisors and others with a legitimate educational interest) have access to view them.
If a third party contacts CU and requests your pronouns, we won't release that information unless you've provided explicit consent for us to do so.
Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation
CU students have the option to identify their gender identity (which may or may not match their sex assigned at birth) and their sexual orientation in their self-service portal. By understanding our student population, we can better promote and foster an environment that helps all students feel comfortable and succeed.
If students choose to provide this information, only faculty and staff with both a legitimate educational interest and provisioning approval at the appropriate security level may view it.