Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Resource Guide
Georgetown University is committed to creating an inclusive, safe, and welcoming campus for all members of our community across all gender and sexual diversities. The following provides general guidelines for specific areas of campus life.
The LGBTQ Center is pleased to announced that in connection with the Georgetown University Office of the Registrar, there are new guidelines for use of First Names.
Chosen Name Policy
Please click here to download the policy and form:
Use of a chosen name other than the legal name
While on campus, students may elect to use a chosen name other than their legal name. The legal name will still be used for official transcripts, diploma(s), financial aid documents, payroll, and other instances where a legal name is required by law or university policy.
Students may request use of their chosen first name in lieu of their legal first name via MyAccess. As long as the use of this chosen name is not for the purposes of misrepresentation, the University acknowledges that a chosen name may be used where possible. Although students are generally free to determine the chosen names they wish to be known by, inappropriate use of the chosen name policy (including but not limited to avoiding a legal obligation or misrepresentation) may be cause for denying the request. Georgetown reserves the right to remove a chosen name if it is used inappropriately. Chosen names are limited to alphabetical characters, a hyphen (-) and a space. It is expected that students will request no more than one chosen name while enrolled at Georgetown. Students may always revert back to using their legal first name instead of use of a chosen name.
Keeping Your Legal Name Private
If a student does not wish GU to share the student’s legal first name with external organizations, they have the option of requesting FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) directory exclusion, which revokes the University’s right to share directory information with any outside source.
Students who wish to exclude any release of student information, under the FERPA exclusion guidelines, may request so by submitting a disclosure of student information form, found here, to the University Registrar’s Office.
It is important to know that requesting FERPA exclusion means that you will not be listed in the directory and the University cannot confirm your student status (e.g., for the purposes of credit card and insurance verifications, etc.). For more information, please contact the Georgetown University Registrar’s Office.
Once the student’s name is updated, the chosen name will appear on the student’s GoCard, class rosters, GU directory and email. Please note that a replacement GoCard must be issued to reflect the chosen name.
Please be advised that student addresses are linked to the student’s legal name. That means any notices sent to the student’s home address, including tuition and other payments due to the university, will bear the legal name.
Note on Diplomas: Upon graduation, student records may be changed under limited circumstances. If after graduation a student obtains a legal change, the University Registrar will honor a name change request and reissue the diploma. The student must return the initial diploma. Students should contact their campus Registrar’s Office for appropriate steps.
Housing Policy
Georgetown University provides housing to undergraduates without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, age, color, disability, family responsibilities, familial status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, personal appearance, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, source of income, veteran’s status or any other factor prohibited by law in its educational programs and activities. Inquiries regarding Georgetown University’s non-discrimination policy may be addressed to Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action, 37th and O Sts., N.W., Suite M36, Darnall Hall, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057.
The Office of Residential Living is committed to finding safe and appropriate housing for students who self-identify as transgender or gender non-conforming on a case by case basis. For more information contact us at residentialliving@georgetown.edu.
– Residential Living Housing Handbook
LGBTQ Resource Center Support
No student is expected to navigate this process on their own. Anyone seeking resources can first make contact with the LGBTQ Resource Center for support through the appropriate steps. If you have any other concerns or issues regarding access please contact us at lgbtq@georgetown.edu.
Georgetown University Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination in Education Statement
Georgetown University provides educational opportunities without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, age, color, disability, family responsibilities, familial status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, personal appearance, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, source of income, veteran’s status or any other factor prohibited by law in its educational programs and activities.
– Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Affirmative Action
The District of Columbia Municipal Regulations
The Regulations protect from discrimination based on actual or perceived gender identity or expression. A sample of these rights is listed below.
- The right to non-discrimination in educational, housing, and employment opportunities.
- The right to non-discriminatory campus services and a non-hostile work/study environment.
- The right to designate yourself as female or male on an application form as it corresponds to your legal sex or to your gender identity or expression.
- The right to no have to provide documentation or other proof of your gender identity or expression except when everyone must provide it for a reasonable business or medical purpose.
- The right to use multi-user restrooms and other gender-specific facilities consistent with your gender identity or expression or single-user restrooms designated as gender neutral.
- The right to equally access student housing corresponding to your gender identity or expression.
- The right to request and receive accommodations as necessary to stop or reasonably prevent unlawful hostilities or harassment.
- The right to ask for and be respectfully called by your preferred name, form of address, and gender-related pronoun.
- The right to not be asked hostile, personal questions about your body, gender identity or expression, or gender transition.
View the full text of the compliance rules and regulations regarding gender identity or expression in the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Chapter 8, Title IV.