Nanaimo Campus

Change of Address or Change of Name

Changing Your Address

If you change your mailing or email address, please update your Student Record in the Personal Information section, or notify the Registration Centre immediately.

If you have a student loan, Financial Aid must also be told of any change in your permanent address. They can be reached at 250.740.6423, or at financialaidinfo@viu.ca.

Changing Your Name

If you have changed your legal first or last name for any reason, you must bring or send an official change document to any Registration Centre to request that the name on your Student Record be revised. An example of this would be a marriage or divorce certificate or other legal documentation of a change of name for any other reason. Please always include your Student Number with your request.

If you are not able to get to a campus Registration Centre, you may scan and email the official name change document to registration@viu.ca. The sending email address must match the one in your online student record.

Preferred or Previous Names

You can indicate the first name you would prefer to be called by updating the Preferred Name field under Change Address in your student record. You can also let us know of any previous legal last name you may have had.

Preferred Name example: If your first name is Thomas but you prefer to be called Tommy, you can indicate this by logging into your student record, selecting Personal Information>Contact Information from the menu, and updating the Preferred Name field with the first name you would like to be called. Your Preferred Name will show on class lists and may be used in correspondence sent to you by VIU faculty or staff.

Previous Name example: If your last name (surname) is Smith, but it used to be Jones - whether because of marriage, divorce, or other legal name change - you can let us know this by logging into your student record, selecting Personal Information>Contact Information and updating the Previous Name field. Note that your Previous Name is not the same as your current, legal, last name/surname. Letting us know of a previous last name helps us to match up any documentation we may have under your old name such as transcripts, old student records or your Personal Education Number (PEN) from the Ministry of Education.