New Data Elements! Lived Name and Gender Identity

Effective December 15, 2023, your institution can submit the following lived name and gender identity data elements as OPTIONAL additional identifiers for your students.

  • Lived First Name
  • Lived Middle Name
  • Lived Last Name
  • Gender Identity

Where can I report the new lived name and gender identity data elements?

You can submit the new lived name and gender identify data elements in:

  • Enrollment and degree files
  • Advanced registration files
  • Enrollment Reporting Error Resolution on the Web on our secure site
  • Individual Student Look-Up on our secure site

What other changes are effective 2023?

  • The existing “Gender” field was renamed “Sex for Reporting”
  • Currently, there is an optional “Previous Last Name” field. With this enhancement, we are adding an optional “Previous First Name” field. (Note: “Previous First Name” and “Previous Last Name” apply to legal first and last name changes.)

Are Student Information System (SIS) vendors being made aware of these format changes?

Yes. The Clearinghouse is reaching out to major SIS vendors about the file layout changes.

What if my school doesn’t intend to report lived name and gender identity?

There are no changes to the way you provide your data to the Clearinghouse if you choose not to report lived name and gender identity.

What does my school need to do to report lived name and gender identity to the Clearinghouse?

Many schools already collect these data elements internally. Your institution will need to work with your IT team and SIS vendor to appropriately map the lived name and gender identify values for reporting to the Clearinghouse.

How should I report a student’s lived name to the Clearinghouse?

If available, include the entire lived name (“Lived First Name,” “Lived Middle Name,” and “Lived Last Name”) in the applicable Lived Name fields only. If a student has a partial lived name such as the student has a lived first name but no lived last name, include the legal last name in the “Lived Last Name” field. If a student has a lived last name but no lived first name, include the legal first name in the “Lived First Name” field. This is the only condition when a legal name should be reported in a lived name field.

If my school elects to report lived name, how should we report students who do not have a lived name?

Lived name is a self-chosen, personal and/or preferred professional name that is used instead of a legal name. If the student does not have a lived name, you should leave the optional lived name fields blank. Please do NOT include the student’s legal name in the lived name fields.

Are there new warning flags for the new fields for Error Resolution on the Web?

Yes, Enrollment Reporting Error Resolution on the Web, available on our secure site, will display the new passable warning code series below if the Lived First/Middle/Last Name fields are blank and at least one of those data elements was previously reported.

  • Warning Code 1403: Lived First Name blank, previously reported
  • Warning Code 1404: Lived Middle Name blank, previously reported
  • Warning Code 1405: Lived Last Name blank, previously reported

Which Clearinghouse services will incorporate the optional lived name fields?

In addition to the change to the enrollment and degree reporting data intake file layout, the following Clearinghouse services will accommodate lived name preferences IF your school populates these fields in Enrollment Reporting:

  • Myhub
  • Postsecondary Data Partnership (in a later enhancement)
  • StudentTracker
  • Transcript Services
  • Verification Services

Find out more information on lived name in other Clearinghouse services.

How will this affect Clearinghouse data flows for Federal Student Aid (FSA) National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and the loan servicing community?

Student loan servicing and FSA NSLDS compliance reporting are not impacted. Lived name and gender identify data are optional fields and, therefore, are not part of enrollment reporting for loan servicing and federal aid compliance.

Please contact schoolops@studentclearinghouse.org or your assigned analyst if you have any questions about submitting lived name and gender identity.

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