The goal of this publication is to create a set of guidelines that can be incorporated into any written document, printed or digital, that is intended for internal or external use by New England College. The universal application of these guidelines will play a key role in enhancing New England College’s brand.
While not a comprehensive treatise on grammar or punctuation, this Style Guide contains useful information that is specific to New England College and commonly used in higher education today. Nearly a dozen style guides were consulted in the preparation of this publication. In many cases there are no hard and fast rules for presentation and, where sources differed, the style most closely associated with current practice at New England College was selected. It is hoped that these guidelines will not be interpreted as restricting expression or creativity, but will be useful as a resource that facilitates the dissemination of information about the College.
This publication is organized in three sections:
Guidelines Specific to New England College Academic Terms and Presentation General Information
I. GUIDELINES SPECIFIC TO NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE
THE COLLEGE
The official name of the College is: New England College. For the initial presentation of the College’s name, New England College should be spelled out in full. In subsequent references NEC may be used. For variety, and if there is considerable distance between the first and subsequent presentation of the College’s name, New England College may be used again. After the initial presentation, the College may also be used. Please be aware that NEC has no name recognition with audiences external to the College and limited use of the acronym is advised for external communication. Periods should not be used with the acronym.
New England College
NEC
the College
MOTTO
The Latin version of the College’s motto is: Dura Duranda Alta Petenda The English translation is: We work hard as we reach new heights.
MISSION STATEMENT
New England College is a creative and supportive learning community that challenges individuals to transform themselves and their world.
Description of Mission:
New England College emphasizes experiential learning as an essential component in the development of an enduring academic community. Building upon a strong liberal arts foundation, we challenge our students to reach their full potential through informed discourse and the pursuit of excellence in a framework of academic freedom that reflects the following values:
• imaginative, innovative, and creative approaches to all their endeavors;
• respect for self in the development of personal, social, physical and intellectual abilities;
• caring and collaborative relationships among members of our community;
• respect for the varied qualities of individuals, communities, and the world;
• an appreciation of beauty and elegance in the search for truth;
• inquiry into and the pursuit of social justice;
• ethical and responsible citizenship, including service to the community;
• the pursuit of ecological sustainability
• continuous learning and a lifetime of personal achievement.
Vision: New England College will be renowned as one of the most creative, innovative, and supportive learning environments where transformation is at the core of all that we pursue.
STATEMENT ON FAIR PRACTICES
New England College’s Statement on Fair Practices should be included in all major publications. This is our EO/AA statement: New England College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
New England College prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed or religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, pregnancy, veteran’s status, or disability, in regard to treatment, access to, or employment in its programs and activities, in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), individuals with disabilities needing accommodation should contact the ADA compliance officer.
New England College seeks to provide equal opportunity in all conditions of employment and to create an environment that welcomes, supports, and celebrates diversity. Whenever an imbalance is found to exist, the College will make good faith efforts to recruit, hire, and promote persons under-represented in the workplace.
THE COLLEGE’S VISUAL IDENTITY
Seal The seal will continue to be used on official College documents such as diplomas, and on publications relating to academic events including Commencement, Inaugurations, Convocation, Founders’ Day. Otherwise, the College’s more recent logo should be used.
Logo
The logo and wordmark “New England College” or “NEC,” which were designed as one unit, should not be used separately. Together, they are intended to create a strong visual identity and brand for New England College.
Use the logo in red and blue whenever possible. This, in combination with white paper, effectively conveys the College’s identity. The red and blue colors are based on the Pantone Matching System and approximations of colors should not be used. The proper colors are:
Blue: PMS 2757 Uncoated or PMS 2768 Coated
Red: PMS 1797 Uncoated or PMS 200 Coated
When placing the logo, it is preferable to left-align the one-line version and center the three-line version.
Typography
Caslon, or sometimes known as Adobe Caslon, is the preferred typeface for text and headlines in all printed material. Caslon features italics and several weights and should serve most applications. If Caslon is not available, the default font will be Times New Roman.
When a sans serif type is required for special situations (legibility in charts, graphs, or where extremely small type is required) Franklin Gothic Heavy is recommended.
Additional Information
For special situations or where more detailed specifications are required, please contact the Office of Public Information.
Web Applications
Typography
The comparable typeface to be used on the College’s website is Verdana.
II. ACADEMIC TERMS AND PRESENTATION
ACADEMIC DEGREES
The general rule is to use all lower case when academic degrees are spelled out and to use “bachelor’s” and “master’s” for the possessive. Do not capitalize the word “degree.” The trend in higher education is to omit periods in degree designations; however, New England College tends to prefer the traditional presentation.
B.A.
bachelor of arts
B.S.
bachelor of science
M.A.
master of arts
M.S.
master of science
M.Ed.
master of education
M.B.A.
master of business administration
MFA
master of fine arts
Ed.D.
doctor of education
Ph.D.
doctor of philosophy
Do not use the word “degree” after the abbreviation for a degree as in “B.A. degree.” Use a comma after a name and before a degree. Never use “Dr.” before a name in combination with a degree designation after a name.
Examples:
John Smith, Ph.D., gave a presentation at the conference last year. She received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from New England College. New England College awarded 100 master’s degrees in May. He has a bachelor of science in biology. She received a B.S. in journalism from the University of Wisconsin. He received his doctorate (noun) from the University of New Hampshire. She is working towards her doctoral (adjective) degree.
ACADEMIC TITLES
Capitalize and spell out in full the names of professorships, scholarships, and endowed chairs. When preceding a person’s name use capitals (designates their professional title). When following a person’s name, use lower case (designates their job). The designation “emerita” (female) or “emeritus” (male) goes after professional title.
The presentation was made by President John F. Smith. The award was given to Associate Professor John Smith. John Smith, president of New England College, made the presentation. John Smith is an associate professor of mathematics. Jane Doe, professor of art, teaches in the evening. Professor Emeritus John Smith will be visiting the College next week.
ACADEMIC DESIGNATIONS
GPA and SAT are not spelled out and do not use periods or apostrophes for their plurals (GPAs).
DEPARTMENTS
Names of departments, schools, divisions, offices, or programs should be capitalized: The Department of History is sponsoring a new program next year. The Office of Admission is closed for the holiday. But lowercase general reference: He used to teach in the history department.
COURSES
Use uppercase for titles of courses or programs: I am taking Kinesiology this semester but I don’t know whether I can get into the Physical Education Program. Use lowercase to describe an area of study: I really like biology but I’m having a hard time with sociology.
HONORS
Use lowercase to describe the dean’s list: Judy was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester.
ALUMNI
alumnus = a male graduate alumna = a female graduate alumni = more than one male graduate or both male and female graduates alumnae = more than one female graduate
John is a member of the Class of 1965. John Smith ’92 announces the birth of a daughter.
UNDERGRADUATES
first-year student (not freshman)
sophomore
junior
senior
John is a member of the senior class.
John is a senior from Oklahoma.
III. GENERAL INFORMATION
ACRONYMS
See description under “The College.” Typically, the presentation of a title is followed immediately by its acronym in parentheses. If the acronym will be presented in the same paragraph, the acronym in parentheses is not necessary.
APOSTROPHES
For plurals of degrees, use B.A.’s or Ph.D.’s; master’s degrees or bachelor’s degrees For plurals letters, use A’s and B’s. In dates, don’t use the apostrophe as in: New England College was founded in the 1940s or He graduated in the ’90s When abbreviating a year use ’82 or ’30s.
COMMAS Although there are proponents on both sides of the issue, the general consensus is to punctuate a list of more than two items with a comma after the second item.
Example: Don’t forget to bring pencils, paper, and erasers.
Use a comma before Jr., Sr. or Inc. Do not use a comma before III
COMPUTER TERMS
database
download
e-mail
home page
Internet
logon, login, log-off
online
upload
URL
web site
web page
World Wide Web or the Web
When a Web address finishes a sentence, close with a period. Avoid URLs that are hyphenated or that break to a second line of text.
DATES
January 1, 2006
January 2006
MISCELLANEOUS WORDS
co-curricular
course work
credit hours
postsecondary
nonprofit is preferred to not-for-profit
nontraditional
on-campus (as an adjective)
We offer 29 on-campus programs.
There are 650 students living on campus.
résumé or resume
NUMBERS
Although some authorities would advise spelling out all numbers between zero and ninety-nine, the general rule is to spell out numbers zero through nine and begin using numerals with 10. Some notable exceptions – use numerals for the following: a person’s age, numbers in graphs, charts, lists, credits, and money. Fractions that stand alone should be spelled out: Nearly one-third of our budget is spent on heat. Whole numbers and fractions are written with numerals and a space between the whole number and the fraction: He graduated more than 2&frac; 12 years ago. Use numerals and spell out the word “percent.” Repeat the word percent when describing a range: Our budget grew by 5 percent but we were expecting something between 15 percent and 20 percent. The “repeat rule” applies for other ranges as well: We were expecting an increase between $5 million to $7 million. PRESENTATION
ITALICS
Books, pamphlets, proceedings, collections, periodicals, newspapers, sections of newspapers, long poems, poetry collections, titles of plays published separately or in collections, movie titles, radio/TV series, operas, oratorios, motets, tone poems, long compositions, conferences
ROMAN IN QUOTES
Titles of articles, features in periodicals, features in newspapers, chapter titles, titles of short stories, essays, individual selections in books, short poems, individual radio/tv programs, songs, short musical pieces, vocal pieces identified by opening lines, titles of conference presentations.
ROMAN WITH INITIAL CAPS
Book series and editions, musical pieces named by form (symphony, fantasy), musical pieces designated by key.
LOWER CASE ROMAN TYPE ARABIC NUMERALS
Parts of poems or plays —act 3, musical pieces designated by sharp/flat/natural.
SEASONS
Seasons should be lowercase unless they are personified: Spring unfurled her delicate wings. Students will be signing up for the spring semester.
STATES
Abbreviations for states should conform to the U.S. Postal Service list: MA, NH, ME, CT, etc. In running copy, spell out the name of the state: He comes from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. If a long list of cities and states must be included, abbreviate the state and separate with semicolons as in: The event was attended by alumni from Boston, MA; Albany, NY; Hartford, CT; and Brattleboro, VT.
TIMES OF DAY
Use lowercase and periods as in: 7:30 a.m. or 6:00 p.m. Spell out noon and midnight.
UNITED STATES
When used as a noun, United States should be spelled out: Jose is currently studying in the United States. When used as an adjective, U.S. (with periods) is used: A representative from the U.S. Department of Defense spoke at our conference. When using “USA” as in “Maria was born in the USA,” do not use periods.
