Instructor Names in SIRS

We recommend that instructors’ names on the Student Instructional Rating Survey are consistent with the professional name they use in the classroom. When the survey uses a name that the students are not familiar with, students may assume that their feedback will be sent to the wrong person and may therefore choose not to complete the survey.

Name changes require 48 hours to take effect in the SIRS system.

To update your last (family) name:

Last names cannot be updated directly by the individual instructors, but can be edited by OTEAR staff. Academic department administrators can also edit last names if it is done during the survey setup (“DIG”) period. Please write to otear@rutgers.edu for assistance. Changes are not permanent, and may need to be redone periodically.

To update your first (given) name:

You have two options to update your first name:

1. Update your Chosen Name on the Employee Self-Service tab on the My Rutgers Portal. The chosen name will replace your legal name on most Rutgers systems, including SIRS. For more information, see the UHR Chosen Name page and the Chosen Name Initiative.
2. Update the “First Name” field on the Directory Listing tab of the Personal Information page. SIRS will use your first name as set in the Directory Listing, but most other systems will be unaffected. The Rutgers Search system will show both your legal/chosen name and directory name. While it is possible to update your last name in the Directory Listing, changes to your last name will not be visible in SIRS.

If you update both your chosen and directory listing names, SIRS will use your directly listing name.