The University of Connecticut One Card Office is now providing students with the option to have a preferred name printed on the backs of their campus cards.

According to a report from The Daily Campus, the One Card Office had been fielding requests from students to have a preferred name on the Husky One Card in place of their legal names. All students IDs now automatically have the display name on the back under the heading “Preferred Name."

If the students has not chosen a preferred name that differs from the legal name, then the preferred name on the back of the ID will default to the cardholder's legal name. The preferred name on the Husky One Card is not the preferred name in student admin portal.

“We recognize many cardholders go by a name other than their legal name; however, the UConn ID can also be used for voting in Connecticut,” said Stephanie Kernozicky, One Card Office manager, in a Daily Campus interview. “Therefore, it is necessary to have the legal name on the card.”

With the decision to maintain legal names on the One Card in place, the UConn One Card Office reached out to peer institutions to see how they go about displaying both legal and preferred names on IDs. The result of the research led the One Card Office to print preferred names on the back and maintain legal names on the front of the cards.

The university also created a webportal for students to quickly and conveniently input their preferred names.

“The name that people call you or know you by is meaningful and significant," added Kernozicky. "We are happy we were able to comply with the need for voting identification, as well as add a component to the UConn ID that was meaningful to the cardholder.”

The standard $20 fee will be applied for students who want a new ID with the preferred name on the back.