THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON STYLE GUIDE

ALPHABETICAL DIRECTORY

A

academic adviser — “er” is the preferred spelling

academic degrees — Degree names are capitalized when the full title is used. Examples: Bachelor of Science in Biology or Master of Arts in Music. With informal usage, such as bachelor's degree in psychology, there is no capitalization because it is not the proper name of the degree.

The general usage for most degrees when abbreviating is to capitalize and use periods. For example: B.A. in Music. (MBA and RN are exceptions.)

addresses — the abbreviations Ave., Blvd., and St., may be used with a numbered address. Alley, drive, road and terrace are spelled out in all instances.

alumna — one female graduate

alumnae — more than one female graduate

alumnus — one male graduate

alumni — more than one graduate

Akron — biannual alumni magazine

Akron Global Polymer Academy — AGPA on second reference.

Ambassadors — student organization that represents the University on behalf of the Office of the President at events and functions.

ampersand — the symbol “&” is not used in the names of UA departments or programs (unless Board-approved). The symbol is only used in publications when it is part of the official name of a business or organization.

Athletics Field House — athletics is plural

Board of Trustees — Always capitalize all references to The University of Akron Board of Trustees, Board or Trustees.

Buchtel Common — main walkway through campus.

C

campus addresses — U.S. mail that is addressed to the University's primary ZIP code, 44325, could be returned to the sender if it contains a street address other than 302 Buchtel Common. Only the recipient's name or department name, the city, state, ZIP code and the ZIP+4 number, if known, should be included. (A list of all ZIP+4 numbers is at www.uakron.edu/aux/mail/zip4.php.)

campus buildings — Refer to the Faculty/Staff Directory, which includes a complete list of campus building names and correct abbreviations.

capitalization — titles used before a name are capitalized and lowercased after a name. Official names of colleges or campus units are capitalized on first reference. Shortened or generic names on subsequent references are not capitalized. Examples:

The Center for Film Study offers a variety of classes.
The center offers classes in the study of film.

colleges — UA’s colleges do not include the word “the” as part of their formal name.

Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
College of Business Administration
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Fine and Applied Arts
College of Nursing
College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering
Honors College
Summit College
University College
Wayne College
School of Law

cocurricular — no hyphen

cooperative education — co-op is acceptable on second reference.

corequisite — no hyphen

course load — two words

courseware — educational software; one word

coursework — one word

curriculum — singular (curricula or curriculums in the plural)

D

days of the week — abbreviate only for tabular formats — these three-letter forms are used without a period: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun.

Dean’s List — capitalize

degrees — associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, Juris Doctor

degrees with distinction — lowercase cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude

Dr. — For those who hold a Ph.D., the use of Dr. can be used as a courtesy title on first reference for University of Akron publications. On second and subsequent references, the person’s last name is used.

E

E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall — Thomas Hall, or hall, on second and subsequent references.

e-mail — correspondence sent electronically

e-mail addresses — should be lowercase, with hyphen

e-business or e-commerce — should be lowercase, with hyphen

emeritus — Use with care. At UA, this is an honorary title conferred by the Board of Trustees. Not every faculty or contract professional retiree has emeritus status — consult the Emeritus Faculty Directory in the Undergraduate Bulletin. Other forms: emeriti (plural), emerita (singular female), emeritae (plural female).

F

Faculty Senate — the legislative body of the University, as delegated by the Trustees.

Fiat Lux — UA motto meaning “Let there be light.”

Founders Day — On the first Friday in May (also the last day of spring semester) the University celebrates its founding and honors new and past retirees at a luncheon.

G

grade point average — no hyphens; GPA on second reference.

H

home page — two words

I

InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field — On first and subsequent references to UA's on-campus stadium, now under construction, the full name should be used. When appropriate, at The University of Akron should be included.

Intercollegiate Athletics — On all references (not Sports or Intercollegiate Sports).

interdisciplinary — no hyphen

Internet — always capitalize

J

Juris Doctor — this law degree is capitalized and can be abbreviated as J.D.

L

Lists of words or short phrases — End your sentence with a colon, and unless your words are proper nouns or the titles of departments, do not use caps. Do not use semicolons, periods or other punctuation after each item. Example:

The Department of Film Study offers:
* scholarships
* internships
* practicums
* cooperative education
* work-study

Lists of sentence fragments — End your sentence with a colon, and capitalize sentence fragments after the bullet point. Conclude each with a semicolon, except for the second to last, which should use “and” after the semicolon, and the final item, which takes a period. Think of these lists as extended paragraphs, with capitalization used to make the items easier for the reader. Example:

Film study majors will:
* Learn the fundamentals of filmmaking;
* Develop effective oral and written communication skills; and
* Become analytical thinkers, problem solvers and decision-makers.

Lists of sentences — Similar to the sentence fragment, except the introductory sentence and individual points should be constructed to use periods, rather than a colon and semicolons. Example:

The Department of Film Study offers students many benefits.
* Students have access to career-specific scholarships.
* Student-to-faculty ratios are 10:1.
* Students receive hands-on training with the latest in filmmaking equipment.

M

meal plan — not board, as in “room and board.”

Mid-American Conference — formal name of the athletic conference of which UA is a member. MAC is acceptable on second reference.

months — the following months can be abbreviated when used with a specific date:
Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. Spell out the month when using alone or with a year — no comma is needed between the month and year. In a tabular format, these three-letter forms are used without a period: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov and Dec.

more than vs. over — more than specifies an amount; over refers to spatial relationships. Examples:

UA was founded more than 135 years ago.
The Goodyear Blimp often flies over campus.

N

NCAA — National Collegiate Athletic Association

New Landscape for Learning — An ongoing, major campus renovation campaign that began in 2000 has added 10 new buildings, 15 major additions and renovations to existing facilities and 30 acres of new green space. (For specific details, go to: www.uakron.edu/nll.) The University’s 15th and largest residence hall will open in 2007.

New Landscape for Living — an initiative launched by The University of Akron and its partners in the University Park Alliance to enhance the 40-block, mixed-use neighborhood adjacent to campus.

numerals — spell out numerals used at the beginning of a sentence. In text, numerals one through nine are spelled out; use numerals for 10 and above. In a sentence where a series of numerals is used, follow the same guidelines.

Example: You can take four classes and earn 16 credits.

Exceptions: Always use numerals in text for ages, credit hours, page numbers, percentages, dates and addresses.

O

online — one word

P

PC — personal computer

percent — this is one word. In most uses, including text, spell out the word. Use the symbol (%) only in a table of figures.

postbaccalaureate — no hyphen

postdoctoral — no hyphen

postgraduate — no hyphen

postsecondary — no hyphen

R

residence hall — not dorm or dormitory

S

seasons — fall or spring semester — references to seasons as well as academic semesters should be lowercase.

state-assisted — UA is a state-assisted institution, one of 14 four-year public universities in Ohio’s higher education system.

student-athlete — hyphenated

T

Tel-Buch — student yearbook

telephone numbers — include the area code; use hyphens. Example: 330-972-7100.

theatre — the preferred spelling for entertainment venues on campus — Paul A. Daum Theatre in Kolbe Hall, Student Union Theatre and Sandefur Theatre in Guzzetta Hall.

The Buchtelite — student newspaper; “The” is part of its name.

time — use numerals in all cases, except for noon and midnight. Always lowercase
a.m. and p.m. and use periods. Do not use zeros with on-the-hour times.

titled/entitled — not interchangeable. Title means “to name.” Entitled means “to designate rights or benefits.”

titles of works — Use quotation marks around titles of the following: books, movies and plays; short stories and poems; magazine and newspaper articles; musical compositions; lectures and speeches; art exhibits or individual paintings; television and radio show titles; and titles of individual episodes of a show.

The names of magazines, newspapers, reference works and journals are used in editorial text without quotation marks around them.

Townhouses — capitalize and use as one word in reference to UA residence halls.

U

UA Network ID (UANet)

The University of Akron — On first reference, the full name of The University of Akron should always be used, with “The” capitalized.

University or UA (no periods) — On second or subsequent references to The University of Akron, University is preferred; UA may be used sparingly.

The University of Akron Alumni Association — alumni association or association on subsequent references.

The University of Akron Foundation — foundation on subsequent references.

The University of Akron Bookstore — University Bookstore, or UA Bookstore, on second reference.

URL — all caps; acronym for Uniform Resource Locator, which is the term for
World Wide Web addresses.

URLs — World Wide Web addresses should be lowercase, with no spaces between the characters. At present, include the “http://” or other server designation at the beginning of the URL. Not all WWW browsers automatically insert this information, and not all WWW servers are http servers.

V

W

Web — always capitalize

World Wide Web — always capitalize

WZIP-FM — student-operated radio station on campus.

X

Y

Z

Zippy — UA mascot, a kangaroo

Zips — The official name used for all of UA’s men’s and women’s sports teams.
Note: Do not use the term “Lady Zips.”