Change of name - Uni Refusing..

doggydogdog

Hi All


I posted several weeks ago about getting my name back to my maiden name (pre divorce) and whether I need to use deed poll.

An email from the court of justice confirmed that all I need to do is provide the company(s) with a copy of my birth certificate. My bank and other financial bodies are fine with this but the main purpose was to make sure my upcoming graduation certificate was in my maiden name and not my estranged husbands name.


I have contacted uni who originally said I need my decree absolute. They are still insisting on this despite my sending them the copy of the email from the courts advising I just need a birth cert.


Does anyone know if there is anything I can do to get them to amend their records??


Thanks

bouicca21

Point out that the law provides that the name you are known by is your legal name. At the same time escalate to a formal complaint at a higher level. Might be worth chucking in a comment about gender discrimination ...

Out,_Vile_Jelly

A degree certificate is an important original document, signed by the university's top bod and not issued lightly. Find out who the senior registrar is and ask them to confirm the institution's policy on name changes during studies. Note that Registry departments spend their days inundated with requests from people who've mislaid their certificates and need a replacement RIGHT NOW for their visa/job interview etc, with everyone believing they have priority over everyone else.

DigForVictory

+1 for being clear w Uni Before the original certificate is signed. Talk to folk, including your tutors? It's amazing (a) what 'policy' is & (b) what a quiet word can do!

However, they can still award you your degree in the wrong name & correct it later, so fret not overmuch.

doggydogdog

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

A degree certificate is an important original document, signed by the university's top bod and not issued lightly. Find out who the senior registrar is and ask them to confirm the institution's policy on name changes during studies. Note that Registry departments spend their days inundated with requests from people who've mislaid their certificates and need a replacement RIGHT NOW for their visa/job interview etc, with everyone believing they have priority over everyone else.

I don't need a replacement. I am just not yet divorced so will not have a decree absolute.

TBagpuss

Check their policy. Legally, you can be known by whatever name you chose to use, but mnay organisations require aditional proof and are free to do so. For example, the Passprt agency doesn't rwequire a Change of Name Deed to return to your maiden name but does require sight of your rth certificate and decree absolute.

If you don't yet have your decree absoute then you could ask whethe they would accept a formal letter from yourself conirming that you are renounvcing your old name and reverting to you maiden name, but if they did their heels in you may bned to do a change of name dee. Note there is no requirement to do a deed poll or to register your change of name cnretally, if you don't want to.

doggydogdog

bouicca21 wrote: »

Point out that the law provides that the name you are known by is your legal name. At the same time escalate to a formal complaint at a higher level. Might be worth chucking in a comment about gender discrimination ...

Ok. I have emailed the student services manager advising them that I will be looking in to it further and asked them to let me know the steps to raise my issue further within the uni. She said she has sent on my email to Student Records for their comments..


I have emailed the courts again to see if I have any official leg to stand on. I just cant understand why a bank and all my forms of ID will change it with a birth cert but they are digging their heels in..!!!


it's very frustrating as I don't care how long my bank take to change it over, but time is of the essence with regards to my HNC certificate!

beckstar1975

Errm are you at a London Uni? I work at one and we also accept Statutory Declarations of name for name changes, cheap to do with solicitor, but yes just birth cert wouldn't be enough without decree here too

Tuesday_Tenor

I changed the spelling of my name between 2nd and 3rd years at uni.
Used a 'statutory declaration' to link the previous spelling on birth cert and the new spelling I would use and be known by from then on. Had no problems with uni over it.

I can see it might be a pain for the uni to have to change the records at this stage as you have probably already been entered for exams etc in the current name, so they might have quite a lot to follow through and will have to do it meticulously to make sure it ALL get changed properly.

However, you have the legal right to call yourself whatever you want and reverting to maiden name is just that, reverting to a name you have chosen not to use recently. As the uni clearly DOES have procedures for name changes following marriage and divorce, they really should have a procedure for dealing with your situation.

If they need some official paperwork to link the names, you might need to go to a solicitor/JP (it was a JP in my case) to sign a statutory declaration along the lines of: 'I, Jane BLOGGS on birth certificate no. 123456789 have used the surname of Jane SMITH since my marriage on dd/mm/yyyy. From dd/mm/2016 I am using the name of, and will be known as, Jane BLOGGS for all purposes and will not use the name Jane SMITH for any purpose.' As others have said, this shouldn't strictly be necessary, but if it helps the uni tick a procedural box that can't be got round any other way, I'd do so.

ETA Beckstar posted as I was typing. Looks like you might find statutory declaration is the way to go.

Kynthia

You don't lose the legal right to your maiden name when you marry. Therefore you don't need to be divorced to use revert to it. I'd be making a formal complaint and even saying whether such an issue is indirect gender discrimination as it will definitely impact women a lot more than men.

NBLondon

1) AS others have said - get a copy of the university policy in writing - not just what someone at the help desk said.


2) They can set any policy they like - irrespective of what other organisations have told you. You are asking for the degree certificate to be issued in a different name to the one you enrolled with/ have your interim marks etc. in. Your birth certificate proves what your legal name was at that time. It doesn't necessarily prove that it refers to the same person who enrolled under a different name many years later. A decree absolute would.