Improving Preferred Name Functionality for Better Inclusion, Diversity and Anti-discrimination
PlannedI’ve noticed that this issue has been raised multiple times in the forum, yet there seems to be little to no changes over the year. So, I’m bringing it up again.
The issue
Currently, the contact account has a “Preferred Name” field where trainers or admins can enter the preferred name of the student. However, despite this feature, the preferred name only appears in contact notes and when printing attendance (this was on the 2023 release under AX-17381).
In most other areas, the system still displays the [Given Name] [Last Name], including:
- Class Matrix
- Marking Attendance
- Marking Assessment
With the current setup, when a class has multiple students with different preferred names, it’s easy to accidentally call or write a student by their given name instead of their preferred name. For example, when marking the roll for attendance or giving assessment feedback to the student,
Moreover, on the student portal, the student can see their [Given Name] [Last Name] and not their preferred Name.
Current Workaround
Since the Preferred Name isn’t displayed anywhere else, we’re forced to change the learners’ Given Name to their Preferred Name. This causes errors when generating AVETMISS reports, so we have to switch the Given Name back to the legal name, verify the USI, and then change the Given Name back to the Preferred Name again. However, this process is prone to human error, and there have been instances where the name wasn’t updated properly, resulting in trainers addressing students by their legal name instead of their Preferred Name.
Ideas
- On the trainer's face, such as class matrix, attendance, marking assessment, and trainer apps, the learner's name should be displayed as [Given Name] "[Preferred Name]" [Last Name] so that it is consistent with the name displayed in the contact account
- On the Learner portal, the initial displayed on the top right corner should be Preferred name and Last name (e.g., if the student's name is John "Preferred" Citizen, the initial should be "PC" instead of "JC"). Also, in the "My Profile Settings" at Learning Plan, they should be added as [Preferred Name] [Last Name], AND there should be a way to add/edit their preferred name.
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Official comment
Hi All,
As part of our most recent release, we have made some adjustments to how preferred name is displayed within the SMS and Apps.
For more information check out our release notes.Thanks,
JackComment actions -
Support and agree! Feedback direct from our trainers have been that it would be helpful to have preferred names visible in these scenarios. Students can get upset when legal name is accidently used as opposed to preferred name. This is certainly a feature that would benefit the greater RTO community.
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Thanks for the input, @everyone.
@Jack: I believe the “First Name ‘Preferred Name’ Last Name” format is standard across Trainer Portals. However, for the student portal, it would be great to give users the option to display their name in different formats—such as “First + Last,” “Preferred + Last,” or “First ‘Preferred’ Last”—based on their preference. This way, students can choose how they want their name to appear.
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