A Populi profile name when it comes to a student role or alumni, is an official student record. This name is what is published to transcripts. It is quite problematic that any staff or faculty role can change the name. This is somewhat manageable in a small environment, but as staffing grows, for your larger clients, this is a problem. A staff or faculty member (with the best intentions) updates a name thinking they're being helpful, but actually it is changing an official student record.
The registrar's office is responsible for making sure these records are accurate with legal names. A student must request a name change with legal documentation in order for it to be changed; however, the way Populi is currently set up makes it extremely difficult for a registrar to manage this. According to my research (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers), interestingly 50% of colleges and universities are willing to change a name for alumni by request, while the other 50% freeze your records upon graduation, maintaining the name you had at that time.
I recommend that Populi consider limiting the ability to change names to the registrar's role. Alternatively, a background fix that does not tie the Populi name to their official student records/transcripts.
Along these lines, while the "Preferred" name does not appear on transcripts, it would be fitting to have an optional setting of allowing the "Former" name to be included on a transcript.
Thank you for your consideration!
