» Gender-Inclusive Policies

Chapman University is deeply committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and welcoming campus for all students, staff, faculty, and visitors. All individuals have equal opportunity to use the restroom facilities on campus that best correspond to their own gender identity. Those who do not identify with the gender binary may determine whichever facility is the most appropriate and most comfortable for them. No individual is required to provide any documentation of their gender identity in order to access to any facility corresponding to their own gender identity.

Chapman University is actively working toward increasing the number of non-gender-identified restroom facilities on campus. View the interactive map of all single-stall and non-gender-identified restrooms on campus.

If you would like to learn more about gender-inclusive policies and resources at Chapman, please visit the Queer Pages or contact the Advisory Group on the Status of LGBTQ Communities.

Chapman University strives to create and maintain a welcoming campus that offers safe, accessible, and inclusive locker room and shower facilities. In keeping with the University’s non-discrimination policies, the University provides all members of our community equal access to locker rooms and shower facilities. Anyone using Athletics or Fitness Center facilities on Chapman’s campus may use the locker rooms and shower facilities that correspond to their gender identity.

If you have questions, concerns, or need access to a nonbinary gender locker room and shower facility, or if you would like to learn more about locker room use, please contact Associate Director of Athletics Doug Aiken at (714) 997-6900 or daiken@chapman.edu.

The Center for Global Education is committed to helping students find study abroad programs that best meet their needs and affirm their identities. If you have housing/accommodation needs or questions surrounding gender identity or expression in study abroad, please contact the Center for Global Education at globaled@chapman.edu. The Center for Global Education can help you find study abroad programs with housing and restrooms that are consistent with your gender identity and/or are gender neutral. To learn more, please visit our Diversity, Access, & Identity Abroad Resources.

Residence Life and First Year Experience (RLFYE) provides on-campus housing options, educational residential experiences, and off-campus housing resources to undergraduate and graduate students. As part of RLFYE’s commitment to developing and sustaining residential communities that are welcoming and inclusive, the department offers gender diverse housing options in all residential communities.

Gender diverse housing options provide Chapman students the opportunity to select housing and roommates regardless of their gender identity or biological sex. This means that students may self-select to 1) live in a single-occupancy room sharing a bathroom with a person of another gender,  2) share a double-occupancy residence hall room with a roommate of another gender, 3) share a two-, three- or four-roommate suite or apartment with roommates or suitemates of other genders. Gender diverse housing is completely voluntary. While gender diverse housing options were designed to offer comfortable and safe options for students who identify as transgender, genderqueer, gender questioning, or otherwise outside the gender binary, it is an option that is open to any student.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gender Diverse Housing

What information do I need to disclose in order to be considered for gender diverse housing?
RLFYE respects each student’s privacy, and will not ask for more information than is necessary to meet each individual’s housing needs. In accordance with the law, all disclosed information will be kept strictly confidential. Students do not need to provide any documentation in order to be considered for gender diverse housing.

In order to provide support to students who would prefer gender inclusive housing, RLFYE must to be notified of the students’ needs. Students are encouraged to contact Assistant Dean of Students for Residence Life and First Year Experience Juan Tinoco with questions or concerns about their specific needs at jtinoco@chapman.edu.

How do I apply for gender diverse housing?
New students (first-year and transfer) must select the gender diverse housing option when they apply for housing. All requests that are received before the priority application date for each semester will be housed according to their gender identity with other students who indicate a willingness or desire to live in gender diverse housing.

Returning students will have the option to indicate their willingness or desire to live in gender diverse housing. For returning students who do not select their own roommates, RLFYE will make sure that all roommates signing up for an open space in a room understand that they agree to live in a gender-inclusive room.

Gender diverse housing is completely optional for all students. No student will be placed in gender diverse housing unless they indicate on their application their interest and understanding of this living situation.

How many gender-inclusive residence hall rooms and apartments are there on campus?
The number of gender-inclusive residence hall rooms, suites, and apartments on campus will depend on the demand for such accommodations. Gender-inclusive spaces will be offered in all residence halls, including Fenestra (first-year) communities, suites, and apartments. There is no limit to how many spaces can be assigned as gender-inclusive.

Can you make sure that my roommate identifies as LGBTQIA?
RLFYE cannot guarantee that your roommate will identify any particular way. Students may opt into gender diverse housing for many reasons. While gender diverse housing was designed to offer comfortable and safe options for students who identify as transgender, genderqueer, gender questioning, or otherwise outside the gender binary, any student can choose to participate.

Can I select the roommate(s) of my choice?
Returning students may pull in eligible roommates of their choice during the housing selection process in spring semester for a housing assignment that begins in fall semester. Returning students of different genders will first need to inform RLFYE that they intend to participate in gender diverse housing, and then they can select one another as roommates. Incoming first-year and transfer students may make a preferred roommate request, but these requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and are not guaranteed.

Can I choose my partner as my roommate?
As with all roommate assignments, RLFYE discourages students in a romantic/sexual relationship or partnership from being roommates with one another. It is our experience that students gain more from our residential communities when they do not reside with their partner. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not choose your partner as your roommate.

Will you out me to my roommate? Alternatively, will you help me talk to my roommate about my reason(s) for participating in gender diverse housing?
In accordance with federal law and University policy, RLFYE will not disclose any information from student’s educational record beyond directory information unless the student has a directory hold. If you would like help preparing for a conversation with your roommate about your living preferences or the identities that are most salient to you, we encourage you to speak with your Resident Advisor or Resident Director.

Chapman University Athletics follows current NCAA Division III bylaws and governance for students’ participation in gender-designated sports. Please see the specific guidance from the NCAA on pages 12 and 13 of the PDF here. The same recommendations shall be applied to Chapman University sponsored gender-separated club sports.

Transgender or gender nonconforming students seeking to participate in an activity that has a gender designation, and who do not find that their experience is described in the NCAA guidelines, are encouraged to contact Associate Director of Athletics Doug Aiken at (714) 997-6900 or daiken@chapman.edu to discuss participation in a team or club sport on a case-by-case basis.

Chapman University recognizes that preferred names can be an important part of anyone’s identity. Therefore, the University has established guidelines for students to indicate their chosen or preferred names. Due to the potentially restrictive nature of gendered names, this option can be particularly beneficial in affirming the identities of trans and nonbinary students.

A preferred name is defined as:

• a first name that is different from a student’s official/given/legal name
• a first name that a student prefers faculty use to refer to them in the classroom
• a first name that a student wants to replace their legal name in certain University-related systems or documents

The University provides students with the opportunity to indicate their preferred name for use on class rosters and in certain University systems in an effort to create a more welcoming and inclusive community. However, students are not permitted to indicate a preferred name with the intention of misrepresenting themselves or their identity. Falsely identifying oneself or others or otherwise furnishing false information or identification to any University official, faculty member or office is against the Student Conduct Code.

Frequently Asked Questions about Preferred Names

How do I change my preferred name online?
A student can update their preferred name in the Student Center in PeopleSoft even if the student has not changed their legal name. In the self-service Student Center, the student should scroll to the “Names” section and type in a preferred or chosen name.

Where will my preferred name be reflected?
Once a student enters a preferred name in the Student Center on PeopleSoft, their preferred first name will be updated in real time and replace the student’s legal first name on faculty’s class rosters in PeopleSoft. The roster in Canvas updates after a delay of approximately 24-48 hours. Questions may be directed to the Office of the University Registrar at registrar@chapman.edu or (714) 997-6701.

Can I get a new ID Card with my preferred name on it?
Once a student enters a preferred name in the Student Center on PeopleSoft, the student may visit the IS&T Service Desk located in the Leatherby Libraries to receive a replacement Chapman ID Card. The $10.00 replacement ID Card fee is waived as a courtesy when printing a card to reflect a new preferred or legal name change. At the time of pickup of their new card, if the student needs to retain an ID card with their legal name, they may keep it but, it cannot be used for services on campus such as: door access, printing, or laundry services. If either card is lost or stolen, a student can request a replacement card for $10.00. If you have further questions about getting a new ID card that reflects your preferred name, please contact the Service Desk at servicedesk@chapman.edu or (714) 997-6600.

Will my preferred name appear or be used everywhere in University systems?
No. The University is currently working to create more opportunities for preferred names to be reflected across various University systems, including confidential administrative systems (non-public) used by University employees.

When a student indicates a preferred name, it does not change the student’s legal name as part of the student’s educational record. A student’s legal name will always be used in business processes that require use of the legal name, such as financial aid, transcripts, international students’ Forms I-20, payroll records, and others. A student who wishes to change their legal name on their educational record must provide proof of a legal name change. Questions about this policy or process may be directed the Office of the University Registrar at registrar@chapman.edu or (714) 997-6701.

Can I print my preferred name on my diploma?
In the application for degree conferral, students have the opportunity to indicate online the preferred name that they want to appear on their degree. Students may select a preferred first name for the diploma, but their last name may not be changed on their diploma without proof of a legal name change. If students legally change their name after graduation, they may submit proper proof of a legal name change to the Office of the University Registrar to officially change their records. Students may then request a new diploma reflecting the legal name change and pay a $25.00 fee for each new copy of their diploma.

Beginning in the Fall of 2024, Chapman University students will have the option to indicate a gender identity/pronoun. Students will be able to indicate a gender identity and personal pronoun through the Student Portal in Campus Solutions. 

What’s not changing? 

• Gender identity is stored separately from “Gender” in a student record. Indicating a gender identity will not impact the gender data field in a student record. 
• Indicating a gender identity and/or personal pronoun will be optional.
• Gender identity information will not be shared at this time, though authorized University staff with access to private information may view it when performing their job duties.

Why Now?

• The university is living up to its guiding principles by providing an atmosphere of mutual respect and inclusion. Chapman University is conscious and responsive to the needs of the many communities we are committed to serving.