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In general, Florida Atlantic University follows Associated Press (AP) style for all external communications and University-wide internal communications. (Note: Academic papers, posters and other published works follow different styles and conventions. Please contact your academic department for standards.)
The AP has been refining its stylebook for more than half a century, with the goal of facilitating communication between writers and readers. The stylebook guidelines emphasize removing clutter from the content of news and feature stories by standardizing the way certain facts are presented in text, such as dates, times of day, titles and addresses.
A number of common style clarifications as well as FAU-specific rules are listed below in alphabetical order. (Note: FAU's press releases uses a specific style. Please contact Media Relations for style questions for press releases.)
Spell out "and" in all references. When space is at a premium (in lists or tables, for example) an ampersand (&) is acceptable. (Note: the College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs and the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters use “and” in their logos; the College of Engineering and Computer Science prefers “&” in its logo.)
Academic Degrees
On most references, use bachelor's degree, master's degree or doctorate in place of degree abbreviations. Bachelor of arts degree or master of fine arts degree is also acceptable. Use abbreviations only when necessary to distinguish the specific type of degree or when the use of full terms would prove cumbersome, such as in a list. (Example: He has an M.D. as well as a Ph.D. in biochemistry). When abbreviating, use the commonly accepted terms such as B.A. (bachelor of arts), M.A. (master of arts), M.S. (master of science), Ed.D. (doctor of education), Ph.D. (doctor of philosophy) and J.D. (doctor of jurisprudence). Always use periods and leave no space between period and letters. For degrees with three or more capital letters (MBA, MSW) the periods are omitted. The word degree should not follow a degree abbreviation.
Ages
Always use numerical figures.
Alumna/Alumnus/Alumni
Use alumna when referring to one female graduate (alumnae in the plural), and alumnus for one male graduate (alumni in the plural). Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women. Alum is not an acceptable form.
Annual
Do not use the term first annual. Use inaugural. An event cannot be described as annual until the second year.
Buildings/Place Names
The Breezeway is the walkway running north/south through the middle of the Boca Raton campus.
The Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium, located in the Student Union on the Boca Raton campus.
FAU Arena, also "The Burrow," is located on the Boca Raton campus.
The FAU/HBOI Marine Science Building is located at FAU Harbor Branch.
The Student Union, previously the University Center, is located on the Boca Raton campus.
The Reubin O'D Askew Tower is the eastern building on the Fort Lauderdale campus and the FAU/BCC Higher Education Complex is the western building.
Campuses/Locations
FAU currently has seven locations. Names listed in bold below are preferred in the first use. Subsequent listings offer additional acceptable uses.
FAU Boca Raton
Boca Raton Campus
Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton
FAU Dania Beach
SeaTech
Florida Atlantic University Dania Beach
FAU Davie
Davie Campus
Florida Atlantic University Davie
FAU Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale Campus
Florida Atlantic University Fort Lauderdale
FAU Harbor Branch
Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch
FAU Jupiter
Jupiter Campus
Formally, John D. MacArthur Campus at Jupiter
Florida Atlantic University Jupiter
FAU Treasure Coast
Treasure Coast Campus
Florida Atlantic University Treasure Coast
Notes: When appropriate, "Broward campuses" grouping may be used. The Broward campuses are FAU Dania Beach, FAU Davie and FAU Fort Lauderdale.
List in alphabetical order when listing more than one campus.
Spell out “Fort” Lauderdale.
When using the “campus” in text, lowercase the “c.”
(Example, “I met my wife at the Treasure Coast campus.”)
Use uppercase for the proper names of colleges, schools, departments and offices. Use lowercase when non-specific and for academic majors and programs.
(Example: I visited the Office of Student Orientation. But, I visited the orientation office. She is earning a master’s degree in physics. She is a biomedical engineering major.)
Use lowercase for titles when not preceding name.
(Example: the vice president for student affairs — but, Vice President for Student Affairs Charles Brown.)
Use lowercase for seasons of the year and when referring to semesters.
(Example: I started classes at FAU last fall during the fall 2007 semester.)
Use lowercase for first-year students (or freshmen), sophomores, juniors or seniors when referring to individuals. But, do capitalize names of organized entities.
(Example: Class of 1970, the Senior Class.)
Capitalize specific course titles only; do not use quotation marks.
(Example: History of European Political Theory; a course in psychology.)
Official name is capitalized. (Example: College of Engineering and Computer Science, Division of University Communications and Marketing, Office for Students with Disabilities). Lowercase in casual reference, “send the file to communications.”
FAU currently includes 10 colleges. Use full name on first reference and "college" on second reference, not capitalized:
College of Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Charles E. Schmidt College of Biomedical Science
Barry Kaye College of Business
College of Education
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Graduate College
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
In listing more than one college, the preference is to list them alphabetically by content area of the college (as listed above), not alphabetically by donor name.
Never reference the colleges using part of the name. Always include the full name of the college on first reference.
(Example: Kaye College of Business is never acceptable, always use Barry Kaye College of Business.)
Composition Titles
Italicize the names of books, newspapers, journals, films, full-length plays, symphonies, operas, ships and airplanes. Use quotation marks around articles.
Computer Terms
CD-ROM, database, download, e-mail, home page, website, the Internet, online (no hyphen), the World Wide Web or the Web.
Dashes
Hyphens (-) join words or indicate missing letters.
(Example: student-athlete; e-mail.)
En (–) dashes are slightly longer than hyphens, are only used with numbers and indicate a numerical spread.
(Example: complete exercises 1–5, 2005–06.)
Em (—) dashes are long (indicated with two hyphens (--) in unformatted text) and indicate a break in a sentence.
(Example: She took her dog—one of only three at the fair—to the stage for the presentation.)
Dates
Example: Aug. 21, 1983
For days of the month, omit “rd,” “th,” “st” and “nd” after the numeral.
Always abbreviate the months of Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. in dates. Spell out March, April, May, June and July.
(Exception allowed on formal invitations: February 12, 2008.)
Do not abbreviate the day.
Florida Atlantic University
Use the complete Florida Atlantic University on first reference for external audience, FAU or University on second reference. University, when referring to FAU, is always capitalized.
Hyphens
Hyphenate part time and full time only when used as adjectives. Ex: He is a part-time instructor in the English department. She works full time in the music department. Do not hyphenate vice president (or any other compound titles) in any reference.
More Than/Over
When referring to something that can be counted, use more than rather than over. The word over generally refers to spatial relationships.
(Example: More than 50 attended. The plane flew over South Florida.)
Numbers/Numerals
Spell out from one to nine; use numerals for 10 and above. Use numerals even for numbers below 10, when indicating: age, course credit hours, statistics, ratios, percentages and amounts of money. Use a comma after digits signifying thousands except when referring to temperature, year or SAT scores.
Percent
Spell out percent in text, and always use numerals.
(Example: Our retention rate is 85 percent.)
President Frank T. Brogan
Always use full name with middle initial on first reference. Use President Brogan on subsequent references.
Use graduation year after name (President Frank T. Brogan ’81) only in unique instances in which designation will be understood: alumni materials, commencement materials.
Use President Frank T. Brogan and Courtney Brogan when referencing the president and his wife.
Quotation Marks
The period and the comma go within the quotation marks.
R.S.V.P.
Abbreviation for the French phrase "Respondez S'il Vous Plait." Use periods after letters. Do not use "please" before R.S.V.P.
(Example: R.S.V.P. by Tuesday, Jan. 22.)
Spacing
Avoid double spaces between sentences or after. In printed material, only one space is inserted between sentences.
Spelling and Terms
For spelling, consult Merriam- Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, available as Merriam-Webster Online.
advisor, not adviser
catalog, not catalogue
health care (two words)
theater, except in FAU's University Theatre and the theatre department
Telephone Numbers
561-297-3797
1-800-FAU-OWLS
Time
Morning and afternoon designations are in lowercase letters with periods, with no spaces between them. Example: 9 p.m. (do not list the :00) or 11:30 a.m.
Titles
Capitalize titles only when they appear before a name.
(Example: Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs John Smith).
Otherwise, lowercase all titles.
(Example: Jane Smith is the University’s assistant vice president for student affairs).
Do not capitalize unofficial titles preceding a name.
(Example: the exhibit featured artist Mary Smith).
Do not capitalize titles used without the name.
(Example: For information, see the registrar. A professor of history will be in attendance.)
Do not use Dr. and title preceding a name.
(Example: Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs John Smith, Ph.D. or Dr. John Smith, assistant vice president for student affairs.)
Web Address
Web address is www.fau.edu, no need to use http:// unless address does NOT start with www.
