Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
Victoria College Editorial Style Guide
Administration – The titles of the administrative officers for Victoria College are as follows:
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President
Vice President of Instruction
Vice President of Student Services
Vice President of College Advancement & External Affairs
Vice President of Administrative Services
Board of Trustees – Capitalize when referring to Victoria College’s Board of Trustees. Do not
capitalize board or trustees when used as a general reference or on second reference.
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Victoria College’s Board of Trustees voted today.
The board members voted today.
The trustees met in a special session on Thursday.
Building names – Capitalize the proper names of buildings including the word building, center
or hall if it is an integral part of the proper name.
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Allied Health Building
Fine Arts Building
Language Building
Continuing Education Center
Technology Center
Academic Building
Health Sciences Center
William Wood Building
Johnson Symposium
VC/UHV Library
Student Services Building / Welcome Center
Student Center
Johnson Hall
Sports Center
Committees – Only capitalize the word committee when it is part of the proper name of a
group. Do not capitalize it on subsequent references even when referring to a specific
committee.
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The Strategic Planning Committee will meet tomorrow at noon.
All committee members should bring bag lunches.
Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
Divisions and Departments
Academic – Capitalize the formal names of academic divisions. When referring to a specific
division, use the entire title of that division.
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Division of Academic Foundations
Division of Allied Health
Division of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Division of Career & Technical Education
Division of Science, Mathematics, & Physical Education
Nonacademic departments and offices – These refer to nonacademic areas on campus.
Always capitalize department and office names, including the word department or office,
when they are part of the official name of the area. When office precedes the name of the
office, then capitalize office.
When office precedes the name, it is capitalized:
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Office of the President
Office of Instruction
When office or department follows the name and it is an integral part of the name, then it
should be capitalized:
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Academic Assessment Office
Administration Office or Business Office
Financial Aid Office
Human Resources Office
Marketing & Communications Department
Payments Office
Purchasing Office
When a nonacademic department or office is referred to as a center or services, etc. and
that distinction is part of the proper name, the entire name should be capitalized.
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Student Services
Advising & Counseling Services
College Advancement & External Affairs
College Information Systems
Institution Planning & Special Projects
Institutional Research
Pre-College Programs
Physical Plant
Security/Campus Police
Student Activities
Technology Services
Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
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Tutoring Center
Veterans Affairs
VC/UHV Library
Welcome Center
Workforce & Continuing Education
Grades – Capitalize grade letters. Do not put quotation marks around grades.
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A, B, C, D, F, H, P, W, X
A grade of C or better is required to pass this course.
Holidays – Capitalize the names of federal holidays. Use official federal holiday designations.
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New Year's Day
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
Majors and degrees – Lowercase the name of an academic major unless the name is a proper
noun (such as English). Abbreviated degree initials do not require periods.
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John is majoring in biology.
John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology.
Before obtaining his BS in biology, John earned an associate degree from Victoria
College.
Jane holds a Master of Business Administration.
Correct degree references are as follows:
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Associate of Arts or AA
Associate of Science or AS
Associate of Applied Science or AAS
General reference to these degrees should be associate degree, not associate’s degree. No
capitalization is necessary when making a general reference.
Also:
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Bachelor of Arts or BA
Bachelor of Science or BS
A bachelor’s degree
Master of Arts or MA
Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
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Master of Business Administration or MBA
Master of Science or MS
A master’s degree
Museum of the Coastal Bend, MCB, the museum – In every instance, Museum of the Coastal
Bend on the Victoria College campus should be spelled out on the first reference. The
abbreviation MCB or the museum may be used thereafter within the same document. When
using the abbreviation MCB in place of the full name, periods are not needed after each letter.
Pirates club sports teams – All Victoria College club sports league teams should be referred
to in a consistent manner. In every instance, the full name of the team should be spelled out. In
subsequent references, the Pirates may be substituted for the full name. In instances where the
distinction between the men’s and women’s teams is necessary, use the Pirates for the men’s
team and the Lady Pirates for the women’s team.
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VC Pirates men’s basketball team
VC Pirates women’s basketball team
VC Pirates women’s volleyball team
VC Pirates baseball team
Both the Pirates and the Lady Pirates won their games last Thursday.
Intramural and non-club sports league teams should be designated as intramural or co-ed.
Policy – That which is adopted by the Victoria College Board of Trustees. All else is classified
as administrative rules, procedures or practices. Rules, procedures and practices should
support policy, but do not need to be approved by the VC Board of Trustees.
Program – Only refers to a course or set of courses that lead to a degree or certificate or
specific learning outcome.
Room numbers – Use numerals and capitalize room when used with a numeral.
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Academic Building, Room 101
Health Sciences Center, Room 211
Seasons/Semesters – Lowercase the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall) unless they
are part of a formal name.
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These classes will begin in Fall 2012.
We will begin offering these classes in the fall of 2012.
She will take 12 credits during the spring semester.
VC’s Fall Convocation will be held on Friday.
State – Lowercase all state of constructions.
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The state of Texas.
The states of Texas and Oklahoma.
Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
Capitalize state when used as part of government title.
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Yesterday, we spoke with State Rep. Geanie Morrison.
Titles – For internal and college publication purposes, capitalize and spell out formal titles such
as Dean, Chair or Director when used with a name.
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Jerry Hamilton, Dean of the Division of Science, Mathematics, & Physical Education, will
be at the meeting today.
Melanie Yosko, Chair of the Mathematics Department, will not be at the meeting today.
Sue Prudhomme, Director of the Museum of the Coastal Bend, attended the festivities.
Exception: News releases sent to the media for publication must follow Associated Press style.
Titles are capitalized only when they precede the name: President Tom Butler was present at
the meeting today. When the title follows the name, it is not capitalized: Jennifer Yancey, vice
president of college advancement and external affairs at Victoria College, was not at the
meeting today.
*Source: Associated Press 2010 Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law.
Note: A person working in Advising & Counseling Services is an advisor, not an adviser.
Victoria College, VC, the College – In every instance, Victoria College should be spelled out
on the first reference. The abbreviation VC may be used in place of the full name thereafter
within the same document. When using the abbreviation VC, periods are not needed after each
letter.
In running text, the College (capitalized) may be used in place of the full name Victoria College
when referring specifically to Victoria College. Use a lowercase college if you are not specifically
referring to Victoria College.
It is no longer correct to use the name The Victoria College.
VC locations – Write out the full name on the first reference and use Center for each
subsequent reference. Do not refer to any Victoria College operations outside of Victoria as
campus. All VC locations outside of Victoria should be referred to as a Center. The only location
that may be referred to as a campus is the Main Campus in Victoria.
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VC Main Campus
VC Calhoun County Center
VC Gonzales Center
VC Adult Education Center
VC Wilkins Industrial Training Center
VC Vocational Nursing Program – Cuero
VC Vocational Nursing Program – Hallettsville
VC Liberty Street Industrial Training Center
Are these correct?
Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
General Style Guide
Colons and semicolons
Colons – Use a colon toward the end of a sentence to introduce lists, tabulations, texts, etc.
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The professor promised two things: The class will require hard work and total dedication.
They invited everyone: students, faculty, and staff.
Semicolon – A semicolon connects an independent and a dependent clause with a connecting
word such as therefore or however and to clarify a series. Use semicolons to separate elements
of a series when the items in the series are long or when individual segments contain material
that also must be set off by commas. Note that the semicolon is used before the final and in
such a series.
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We received the report; therefore, the follow-up mailing is unnecessary.
He is survived by a son, John Smith, of Chicago; three daughters, Jane Smith, of
Wichita, Kan., Mary Smith, of Denver, and Susan Smith, of Boston; and a sister, Martha
Smith, of Omaha, Neb.
Commas
Commas in a series – Use commas to separate elements in a series.
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The flag is red, white, and blue.
He would nominate Tom, Dick, or Harry.
I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast.
The main points to consider are whether the athletes are skillful enough to compete,
whether they have the stamina to endure the training, and whether they have the proper
mental attitude.
*For internal documents and publications, a comma should be used before the conjunction.
However, any material prepared for release to the media for publication will follow AP style and
omit the comma that precedes the conjunction.
Equal adjectives – Use commas to separate a series of adjectives equal in rank. If the commas
could be replaced by the word and without changing the sense, the adjectives are equal.
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He spoke in a thoughtful, precise manner.
We walked down a dark, dangerous street.
Do not use a comma when the last adjective before a noun outranks its predecessors because
it is an integral element of a noun phrase, which is the equivalent of a single noun.
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She wore a cheap fur coat.
Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
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I carried the old oaken bucket.
The girl wore a new blue spring bonnet.
Placement with quotes – Commas always go inside quotation marks.
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―The will of the community is only expressed if everyone votes,‖ said Butler.
Names – Do not use a comma before Jr., Sr., II, etc., after a person’s name.
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His name was John Smith Jr.
John Smith III will be a sophomore next year.
Hyphenation
Compound adjectives – Use a hyphen to link compound adjectives that come before the noun
they modify.
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full-time student
upper-division course
part-time faculty
out-of-state tuition
Hyphenation with prefixes – Words beginning with ―non,‖ ―anti,‖ ―sub,‖ ―co,‖ and ―pre‖ usually
can be combined without a hyphen.
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noncredit
nondiscrimination
nontraditional
nondenominational
coeducational
nonprofit
Use the non-hyphenated spelling if either spelling is acceptable.
Exceptions: Hyphenate words when a prefix causes confusion in reading the word that follows.
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pre-enroll, not preenroll
pre-engineering, not preengineering
co-op, not coop
Hyphens – Hyphens are the shortest dashes and are used to hyphenate words.
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She teaches twelfth-grade physics.
He has a happy-go-lucky attitude.
Approved by Admin Council on 6/13/2012 – Publications Review Committee
En dashes – These longer hyphens are used to separate ranges of numbers. If the word to can
be used in place of the dash, use an en dash instead. En dashes are also used instead of
hyphens in compound adjectives when one of the items is two words or a hyphenated word.
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A North Carolina–based firm sent a representative to the VC Career & Job Fair.
He attended Lebanon Valley College from 2006–2010.
He attended Lebanon Valley College from 2006 to 2010.
Em dashes – These are the longest dashes. They are used to indicate breaks of thought within
sentences.
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Jane stopped abruptly on her way across the Quad—she had heard her professor’s
voice calling her name.
Spacing
Use one space after the period at the end of a sentence. The Chicago Manual of Style, the AP
Stylebook, and the Modern Language Association all recommend using one space after a
period at the end of a sentence.
Telephone Number format
Area codes should be set apart with parentheses followed by a dash as follows:
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(361) 593-3291
(877) 843-4369