UMass Trans FAQ

The Stonewall Center can assist with any trans-related issue; the director, Genny Beemyn, is trans. The Dean of Students Office (DOSO) can also be of assistance. The Stonewall Center works closely with the DOSO and has conducted a special trans training for its staff.

The Stonewall Center has also established point people in departments where trans people might have particular needs. These individuals have also attended a special trans training:

• Admissions: Erin Bernard

• Athletics: Jeff Smith

• Bursar's Office: Erin Schadel

• Campus Recreation: Jason Incorvati

• Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH): Aspen Prager and Brad Landon

• Disability Services: Rachel Adams

• Financial Aid Services: Matt Mourovic

• New Student Orientation and Transitions:

• Ombuds Office:  Colette Carmouche

• Registrar's Office: Thomas Fritsch

• Residential Life Student Services: Justin Dowd

• Student Legal Services Office:

• UMass Police Department (UMPD): Kimberly Muñoz

• University Health Services (UHS): Cindy Hildebrand: 577-5040 or through the UHS Patient Portal

In August 2009, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst added "gender identity and expression" to its nondiscrimination policy. The town of Amherst also includes "gender identity/expression" in its human rights policy.

The current presidential administration is excluding trans and nonbinary students from protections under Title IX, the federal law that bans sexual harassment and discrimination in higher education. But the state of Massachusetts and UMass Amherst ban harassment and discrimination against people based on their gender identity, and repeated misgendering can be considered harassment. Students who wish to report being repeatedly misgendered should contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at 545-3464 or @email or by filling out the form here. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access can conduct an investigation if a complaint is filed and provide support to a student who has been misgendered.

UMass Amherst is one of the few colleges in the country to have a formal policy on the rights of trans people in campus bathrooms. The policy enables trans and gender-nonconforming people to use the gendered bathrooms in which they feel safer and more comfortable

The specific wording of the policy is: "The University of Massachusetts Amherst strives to create and sustain a campus environment that supports and values all members of our community. One aspect of creating a supportive environment is providing safe, accessible, and convenient restroom facilities. Students, staff, faculty, and campus guests should use the restroom facilities that correspond to their sex or gender identity, or utilize single-user facilities that are designated as a restroom or gender-inclusive restroom." The formal policy is listed here: https://www.umass.edu/physicalplant/sites/default/files/Restroom%20Policy.pdf

All major renovations and new facilities built on campus since 2010 include single-user gender-inclusive restrooms. More recent renovations, like with the Student Union and Goodell, have also included multi-user gender-inclusive restrooms.

A list of campus gender-inclusive restrooms can be found here.
A map of these restrooms is available here.

All students may request gender-inclusive housing, which is available in doubles, suites, and apartment-style rooms. Gender-inclusive rooms are also available on the Spectrum floor, the LGBTQIA+ living-learning community. If you are a returning or incoming student interested in gender-inclusive housing or the Spectrum floor, email Residential Life for more information.

Residential Life will house students in keeping with the gender they have established with the University, which may be different from their sex assignment or the gender marker on their non-campus records. A trans student and a roommate(s) can request to be placed in a double room or suite in any residence hall. Trans students can also request to live in a gender-inclusive room or suite, apply for a room on the Spectrum (LGBTQIA+) floor, or be part of a group that requests a campus apartment.

Trans students with a vacancy in their room during the semester will have an opportunity to identify a roommate through the established "Roommate Pull-in Process." In the event a vacancy remains in the room, Residential Life will assign any new roommate using its established processes, which will be based on the gender established with the University of the student in the room.

Trans students with a vacancy in a room designated as gender-inclusive outside of the semester can use Online Room Selection to attempt to identify a new roommate. All appointments are based on priority. Students with a vacancy that is not designated as gender-inclusive can contact Residential Life Student Services at @email to discuss options.

A person who lives in Hampshire County can obtain a change of name by filing a petition with the Hampshire County Probate and Family Court. How to do so is outlined in our Western Massachusetts Transgender Resource Guide.

Undergraduate students can change their name on all UMass Amherst records by emailing a copy of the court order or a driver's license with their new name to @email or bringing the documentation to the Office of the University Registrar, 213 Whitmore Administration Building. Hours of operation for the Registrar’s Office are here.

Graduate students can change their name on all UMass Amherst records by emailing a copy of the court order or a driver’s license with their new name to @email.

Employees can change their name for payroll, benefits, and tax purposes by bringing a Social Security card with their new name to the Human Resources Employee Resource Center, 325 Whitmore Administration Building. Hours of operation for Human Resources are here. Employees who are or were once UMass undergraduate or graduate students will also need to change their name in SPIRE. To do so, employees should follow the procedures listed above for individuals of their current/former student status.

To have a chosen first name on class rosters, you can update your name in the Student Services Center in SPIRE under "Personal Information." Click on the "edit" box to add your chosen name. Your chosen first name will appear on your main Student Center page on SPIRE, class rosters, and Moodle.

Note: this process will not change your middle name on class rosters. To do so, contact Thomas Fritsch in the Registrar's Office, 413-545-0555.

Grade rosters will have your legal name, but your chosen name will appear immediately afterward in parenthesis – e.g. George Jorgensen (Christine). All of your other official records will display only your legal name.

Changing your name on SPIRE will automatically add this name to your UMass online directory, but you have to follow the steps listed below to remove your legal name from the directory. To use a chosen name on Blackboard, call the Blackboard Help Center, 855-757-7055.

Note: Changing your name in SPIRE will not change your name in other UMass software systems, such as Campus Pulse, the Career Services and Residential Life databases, and in places where you swipe your UCard, including residence hall security desks, residential service desks, dining commons, and the Rec Center. To make this change, you need to change the name on your UCard.

The name on a person's UCard is considered their campus name and used in all places where a legal name is not needed (legal names need to appear on financial aid, employment, and insurance records, Bursar bills, and official transcripts). For students, the campus name will appear on SPIRE, Zoom, unofficial transcripts, Dean's Lists, and in the databases used by advisors, New Student Orientation, Residential Life, Dining Commons, Parking Services, Campus Recreation, Information Technology, the Library, and other departments.

Students can change the first name on their UCards by filling out the form available here. Students do not need to have changed any other identification first. Once the form has been processed by the Registrar’s Office, students should go here for information about how to request a replacement UCard and schedule an appointment to pick it up.

Employees can change the first name on their UCard by emailing @email from their UMass email address and requesting a new campus name. SPIRE will automatically send that new name to the UCard system. Once an employee receives a confirmation from IT User Services that their campus name was added, they should go here for information about how to request a replacement UCard and schedule an appointment to pick it up.

There is no charge for trans students and employees to get a new UCard issued in their new name, but they need to turn in their old UCard when they pick up their new one to have the charge be waived. Trans students and staff can also update the picture on their UCard at no charge. Incoming students can have their ID card issued in their campus name before they arrive on campus.

Students: please be aware that if you change the name on your UCard, emails sent to you and mailings sent home by the University will use this name, so you could be outed to family members if you are not already out as trans.

Students can go into SPIRE and under "UMass Directory," choose "My Directory Info." If you uncheck "publish primary name," only your chosen first name will appear in People Finder.

Employees who are not current or former students can email a request that their chosen first name be used instead of their legal first name on People Finder. The request must be made from your official OIT email address.

A student can change their UMass email address by indicating that they want a new email address on the Gender Marker and Campus Name Change Form available here and emailing it to @email. Information Technology will then assign a new public-facing email address that uses a student’s campus name.

An employee can change their UMass email address by going to the IT Service Desk in Campus Center, room 225, which is just off the main concourse, by the door to the Student Union. Please ask to speak with a full-time staff member. A photo identification will be needed to confirm your identity.

Students can change their NetIDs by contacting IT User Services via it@umass.edu and asking to change their NetID. Because work in Moodle and other apps can be disrupted by a NetID change, IT will implement the change between semesters. Incoming students who wish to change their NetIDs should do so as soon as possible to avoid problems with required online trainings during New Student Orientation and Transition.

The Registrar’s Office will update the first name on students' diplomas when students change their first name on their UCards. Students can also update the name on their diplomas themselves in their SPIRE Student Center Graduation information. For an explanation of this process, go to the Registrar's web page about diplomas.

To change your name, gender, and/or name prefix (such as Mr., Ms., Mx., or none) on alumni records, email your request to the Records and Gift Processing department.

Students can change the gender designation on UMass records by filling out the form available here. No other documentation is required.

Students who change their gender marker will be treated as this gender by the University whenever gender distinctions are made, such as for overnight housing during New Student Orientation and Transition, for housing assignments during the school year, and for intramural sports teams.

This change would only apply to internal University records that are not considered legal documents. It does not constitute a legal change in sex, and campus records that are viewed as legal documents (such as employment and financial aid records) will still include a student’s legal sex.

Undergrads applying to UMass are asked their gender identity (as well as sexual orientation) on the University’s admissions application. This information is automatically placed in a matriculated student’s private SPIRE page. Returning students and incoming students who did not indicate their sexual orientation and gender identity when they applied can add this information to their personal SPIRE page by going to “My Personal Information” and then to “Gender and Sexual Identity.” Students are encouraged to provide this information so that UMass Amherst can better tailor programs and services to meet the needs of individuals of different sexual orientations and gender identities, and to better track the retention of LGBTQIA+ students.

To add or change your pronouns, log in to SPIRE. Under the "Main Menu," select "My Personal Information." The last link is to the "Pronouns" page.

Students and staff members can add their pronouns to Navigate by logging in, clicking on the circle on the top right of the screen (which has either their photo or initials), and selecting “User Settings.” Navigate is currently unable to pull chosen first names from SPIRE. Students and staff members can request their name be changed in Navigate by emailing navigate@umass.edu.

Transitioning students can have their mental health counseling, hormone replacement therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries covered under the student Health Benefit Plan (SHBP).

The Center for Counseling and Psychological Health (CCPH) has trans-identified therapists. Students can schedule an appointment with them by calling CCPH, 413-545-2337.

University Health Services (UHS) is able to prescribe, inject or teach to inject, and monitor hormones for trans students. The doctor who can prescribe is Ilana Schmitt, one of the staff physicians. Students interested in getting on hormones can call Cindy Hildebrand, a Registered Nurse, who is the trans point person for UHS and also the RN who works closely with Dr. Schmitt. Her phone number is 413-577-5040. Students can also speak to any of the resource nurses to schedule an appointment with Dr. Schmitt.

The specific trans male surgeries covered under student health insurance are: mastectomy, hysterectomy, salpingo-oophorectomy, vaginectomy, metoidioplasty, scrotoplasty, urethroplasty, placement of testicular prostheses, and phalloplasty. The trans female surgeries are: orchiectomy, penectomy, vaginoplasty, clitoroplasty, and labiaplasty.

There is a $200 deductible, as well as a 15% co-insurance for participating physicians and a 25% co-insurance for out-of-network physicians. This means that students would be responsible for $200 and 15% or 25% of costs, depending upon the doctor was in or out of network, respectively.

For more information and the current protocol to follow, students should contact customer service at Consolidated Health Plans, 877-657-5027. If you encounter any difficulties, contact Lindsay Pease, Student Health Benefit Plan Manager at UHS, 413-577-5192. The Director of the Stonewall Center, Genny Beemyn, can also provide support and assistance.

The UniCare State Indemnity Plans cover hormones and gender-affirming surgeries for staff members who are transitioning. For more information, contact UniCare Customer Service: 800-322-9161; www.unicarestateplan.com.

The Rec Center has a private changing and shower room that is open to trans and other students. The room is between the men's and women's locker rooms and has a lockable door (no key is required to gain access). Lockers are available immediately outside of the private changing room.

Working with the Stonewall Center, the Rec Center developed the following policy, which is included in the Rec Center's Intramural Participant's Guide:

"When an activity makes gender designation, individuals may participate in the activity based on their gender identity. If an individual's gender identity does not fit within the binary framework of man/woman or the person is in the process of transitioning to a different gender, participation in a particular gender designated activity will be handled on a case by case basis." The full intramural policy can be found here.

As a member of the NCAA, UMass Amherst must follow its policies for the participation of trans athletes in intercollegiate sports. The NCAA defers to the national governing body of each sport to determine the criteria for trans inclusion. In sports without a national governing body, the policy of that sport’s international federation is to be followed. If there is no international federation policy, International Olympic Committee criteria are to be followed. UMass has a trans athlete inclusion policy that states that the gender identities of trans athletes are to be respected at all times in areas such as name and pronouns, locker rooms access, uniforms, and travel housing.