College Style Guide

Common Style Occurrences

The following items are common style occurrences at TMCC, and include variations to strict AP style. If you have any questions about how to format a particular piece of content, please feel free to contact us.

Academic Degrees

TMCC does not abbreviate degrees with punctuation. Otherwise, follow AP Stylebook.

• Examples: Use AAS, not A.A.S. Also: BArch for Bachelor of Architecture

Use lowercase (such as associate degree, bachelor's degree or master's degree), except when used as a title.

• associate degree, bachelor's degree
• Associate of Arts Degree, Bachelor of Arts Degree

For bachelor's degree: note the use of the apostrophe when "of" is not present. The plural is "bachelor's degrees".

There is no possessive in associate degree.

• Example: "After earning an associate degree, Laura went on to earn her Bachelor's Degree in Biology."

When giving the title of a degree with an emphasis, use a comma.

• Example: Associate of Arts Degree, Philosophy Emphasis
• Alternatively: Associate of Arts Degree in Philosophy

Academies

TMCC Fire and Police Academies are approved for use.

• Northern Nevada Fire and Rescue Academy
• Northern Nevada Law Enforcement Academy

Advisor

Not adviser.

And, Ampersand (&)

Follow AP Stylebook. In text, spell out the word "and". The ampersand (&) is used in a limited number of department names.

Arabic Numerals

Follow the AP Stylebook. The numerical figures are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0. In general, these figures are spelled out in text.

Arabic numbers ten and greater are used in numerical form (for example: 24, 69 or 2,437) except at the beginning of a sentence.

Board of Regents

Capitalize the name of this governing body for the Nevada System of Higher Education.

• The Board of Regents
• The NSHE Board of Regents

Buildings

Note: room abbreviations are used after the full campus site/location name and before a room number. Example: William N. Pennington Applied Technology Center, EDSN 270 or TMCC Dandini Campus, RDMT 203.

Button Names (Web)

Use proper case.

• Example: When you go to the home page, select the Class Schedule button.

Campus

Dandini Campus (not "main campus"). This is the College's only campus. Other locations are "sites" or "centers."

See Also: Locations/Educational Centers/Sites

Capitalization

Generally, follow AP Stylebook, unless noted in this directory. For example, do not capitalize "room" after the name for a building. However, contrary to AP, TMCC department and committee names are in proper case. Position titles are proper cased only when accompanied by the name of the person the title is referring to.

• Example: The seminar will be held in the Red Mountain Building, room 314.
• Example: the English Department; Admissions and Records Office
• Example: Professor Cardoza; President Hilgersom; John Smith, Instructor; Jane Doe, Director; Sue Smith, Business Division Dean; etc.
• Example: "...a meeting that included the dean..."; "...a letter to the department's instructor..."; "...directors and administrators met to discuss..."; "...the dean asked if the meeting could..."; etc.

When using the word 'department' (or 'program', 'committee', and the like) as part of a recognized name it should be capitalized:

• Betty is now working in the Biology Department.
• Susan joined the Nursing Program.
• Nicole is part of the Activities Committee.

If using 'department', etc. not as part of a specific name, it should be lower case:

• We had a party to welcome Betty to the department.
• Susan enjoys being part of the program.
• Nicole puts in a lot of hours for the committee.

But if using 'biology', etc. not as the name of a specific department, but rather as a field of expertise, you would write:

• Betty works in biology.
• Susan works in nursing.
• Nicole enjoys being part of a committee.

Catalog (College Catalog)

Use "College Catalog" (note capitalization) to refer to the document outlining the College's programs and other information. Note: Course catalog refers to the College's inventory of course descriptions in the student information system (MyTMCC).

Clip Art

Clip art is generally not allowed in TMCC publications, except for instruction to small children. Advanced approval is required. The Marketing and Communications Office offers photographic services to the College, and subscribes to an online stock photography service.

College

Use "College" when referring to all TMCC instructional sites, centers and other locations where instruction is offered.

After a first reference of the full name of the College (Truckee Meadows Community College), "College" may be used to refer to TMCC (note capitalization).

See also: Locations/Educational Centers/Sites

Comma in a Series

Follow AP Stylebook. In a series of three, use only one comma.

• Example: There are nursing, automotive and computer students in the hallway.

Committee Names

College committee names are capitalized.

• Example: Curriculum Committee; Academic Standards Committee

For more than one committee, capitalize the committee name, but lowercase the word "committees."

• Example: the Curriculum and Academic Standards committees

Copyright Symbol

Use of the copyright symbol should generally contain three elements together, or in close proximity to each other.

1. The symbol © (letter C in a circle); the word "Copyright"; or the abbreviation "Copr."
2. The year of first publication.
3. The name of the copyright owner.

Below are a few examples of how some major companies use the copyright symbol for their website copyright notice.

• © 2019 Instagram
• © 2018 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
• © 1997-2018 Netflix, Inc.
• Copyright © 2019 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
• LinkedIn Corp. © 2019
• Copyright © 2018 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
• Facebook © 2019

The majority of these companies use the copyright symbol in the front, then the current year and name of the company. But this can vary without impacting protection of the copyright. Some add "All Rights Reserved" as well. The copyright symbol is generally not necessary, but the function of the symbol remains the same: to give notice that the identified work is protected by copyright.

Cost

Follow AP Stylebook. For example, always use lower case and the $ sign in all except casual references or amounts without a figure. Do not add space between the $ sign and the numeral.

• Example: The book costs $4.
• For dollar amounts without cents, do not add the ".00" ($4 not $4.00)

For amounts more than $1 million, use the $ and numerals up to two decimal places.

• Example: It is worth $4.35 million.

Dates

Dates should be formatted as Nov. 9, 2020. Do not use "th" after the day (e.g., November 9th or the 9th of November).

• When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Spell out March, April, May, June and July. Spell out all months in running text when using alone or with the year alone. When a phrase contains a month and year alone, do not use commas.
• When publicizing an upcoming event, use the day of the week and no year. Do not use the letter suffixes such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
  • Example: Commencement will be held on Friday, May 22.
• If your event is over a date range, please skip the day of the week, such as: TMCC will be closed Jan. 1–2 for the New Year's Eve holiday.
• If you are writing about a past event, you may skip the day of the week and include the year: Last year's event was held on Dec. 5, 2019.
• For an annual event, you may use arabic numerals in the title of the event (e.g., 3rd Annual, 6th Annual).

See Also: Entry for formatting Time.

Departments/Divisions

• For all TMCC departments, programs, centers, offices and divisions, "office, department or division" appear after the specific title.
  • Examples: Business and Social Sciences Division; Equity and Inclusion Office; Emergency Medical Services Department
• Punctuation is not used in division or department names except when necessary; Oxford commas are not used.
  • Examples: Life Sciences, Allied Health and Public Safety Division
• College department names are in proper case.
  • Example: the English Department; Admissions and Records Office
• Lowercase the word "offices" when more than one department is noted.
  • Example: the Admissions and Records and Academic Advising offices
• For departments that utilize an acronym as a name, such as the DISCO, ARCCH or TLC:
  • The full name of the department/division is spelled out first and then the acronym is referenced in parentheses for its first mention in the text.
    • Example: The Diversity and International Student Center Office (DISCO). After the first mention, the acronym may be used in place of the department/division's full name.
  • The acronym will be written using all capital letters. No symbols, superscript, subscript, or punctuation marks can be used inside the acronym.
    • Example: ARCCH not ARC²H

Doctor (Dr.)

"Dr." may be used to signify a person has earned a doctoral level degree (PhD, Ed.D.) in the context of college information. Do not use "Dr." for honorary degrees.

Email

Not hyphenated or capitalized.

First-Year and Second-Year

• In lieu of "freshmen" and "sophomore," use "first-year" and "second-year" with a hyphen.
• When used in a complete sentence, "first-year" should be lowercase with a hyphen, unless it appears at the beginning of the sentence, when it would use title case: "First-year,"
• When used as a column header or on its own, use proper case: "First-Year."

He/She/His/Her and They/Them/Their

Follow AP guidelines: in most cases, a plural pronoun should agree in number with the antecedent; however, "they/them/their" is acceptable as a singular and-or gender-neutral pronoun. Clarity is a top priority and note that gender-neutral use of a singular "they" may still be unfamiliar to many readers. Note that use of other gender-neutral pronouns, such as "xe" or "ze," is not approved by this style guide.

Hyphens/En Dashes/Em Dashes

An en-dash is used to connect values in a range or that are related. A good rule is to use it when you're expressing a "to" relationship.

Examples where an en-dash should be used:

• in years 1939–1945
• pages 31–32 may be relevant
• New York beat Los Angeles 98–95

A hyphen is used to join words in a compound construction, or separate syllables of a word, like during a line break, or (self-evidently) a hyphenated name.

• pro-American
• cruelty-free eggs
• em-dash

An em-dash is typically used as a stand-in for a comma or parenthesis to separate out phrases—or even just a word—in a sentence for various reasons (i.e., an appositive).

Examples where an em-dash should be used:

• School is based on the three R’s—reading, writing, and ’rithmetic.
• Against all odds, Pete—the unluckiest man alive—won the lottery.
• I sense something; a presence I've not felt since—

Finally, a minus sign is distinct from all three of the above.

• 4 − 2 = 2

(Examples above from: English Language and Usage)

Internet

Follow AP Stylebook. Not capitalized.

Instructor (Community College)

An instructor is a college teacher who does not have tenure.

See Also: Capitalization (for position titles)

Locations/Educational Centers/Sites

• William N. Pennington Health Science Center (after first use, can be shortened to "Pennington Health Science Center")
• William N. Pennington Applied Technology Center (after first use, can be shortened to "Pennington Applied Technology Center")
• Meadowood Center
• Parcourse (one word)

See Also: Buildings

Logos

See Brand, Logos and Colors.

MyTMCC

As written, no spaces.

Numbers (in Parentheses)

Putting a number in parentheses after a word (Example: "She was required to submit one (1) essay ...") is unnecessary and is not part of TMCC's style guide. It is generally not even required in legal writing anymore. Garner's Modern American Usage says it was originally done in legal writing to prevent fraudulent alterations; it is now a relic of legal writing.

Pre-Professional

Use pre-professional with the hyphen occurring between pre and professional in all occurrences.

Professor (Community College)

A professor is a college teacher who has tenure.

See Also: Capitalization (for position titles)

Semesters/Sessions/Terms

Differs from AP style.

Capitalized when referring to TMCC school sessions:

• Fall Semester
• Spring Semester
• Summer Session I, Summer Session II
• Winter Session

Also capitalized if the word "semester" is understood to be referenced. Example:

• In Fall (the word "Semester" is understood here, versus the generic season) we will hold our annual staff orientation.
• Our department will have special hours when we re-open in Spring (the word "Semester" is understood here, versus the generic season).

Not capitalized when referring only to the season and not specifically to the College semester.

• The fall leaves are beautiful.
• We take our family vacation in early fall.

Note also that the word "semester" on its own, without referencing the specific school session, is not capitalized.

• This semester will be busy.
• Last semester the Dean gave her annual address to the faculty.

Telephone Numbers

Always use area code, with dashes, not parenthesis, when posting telephone numbers.

• Example: 775-673-7111

Theater vs. Theatre

The word theater can refer to a theater building, if spelled with an "er," or a home theater system. The word theatre should always refer to the art form.

• Example: Theatre companies perform theatre in their theaters.

Time

Follow AP style: lower case, insert periods and a space before the abbreviation. Use "Noon" (not 12 p.m.) and "midnight" (not 12 a.m.). Omit ":00" when the time is on the hour.

Examples:

• 8 a.m.
• 8:30 p.m.
• 8–10 a.m. (Note: these use an en-dash, not a hyphen)
• 8:30–10 a.m.
• 8–10:30 a.m.
• 8 a.m.–Noon

Title of Published Works

When referencing the titles of complete, published works, use italics. This includes the titles of books, magazines, theatrical plays, etc. For works that are a part of a collection (a poem from a chapbook, an essay from an anthology for example), use quotation marks.

• Example: Godspell features a parade of beloved songs, including "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord."

Trademark and Registered Trademark Symbol

Use of the trademark/registered trademark symbols (™ or ®) are not required each time the mark appears in a single document or on a web page.

It is only necessary to use a symbol with the first instance of the mark, or with the most prominent placement of the mark.

It is a common misconception that each and every instance of the mark should bear a trademark symbol. Overuse creates visual clutter and may detract from the aesthetic appeal of the piece. Provided there is at least one conspicuous use of the ™ or ® on the face of the writing, eliminate superfluous markings.

Web

Follow AP Stylebook. Not capitalized in any form: web page, website, web-based.

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TMCC Athletics Common Style Occurrences

TMCC Athletics follows TMCC’s College Style Guide, with exception to the cases listed below. For style occurrences not listed, please reference TMCC's College Style Guide.

Athletics Mascot

“Mighty the Lizard” is the official mascot of all TMCC teams, and may be referred to as either “Mighty” or “Mighty the Lizard.”

Like Wizard the Lizard, Mighty is gender neutral and thus should be referred to as “they” or “them.”

Dates of Matches and Events

Follow the TMCC College Style Guide.

Facility Names

The official names of TMCC’s Athletic Facilities are as follows:

• TMCC Soccer Field
• Sports and Fitness Center

Footers

All documents for print or external release to the community or the media are to include the full “Truckee Meadows Community College” name spelled out with a brief description.

• Example: “Truckee Meadows Community College, located in Reno, Nevada, offers more than 70 programs of study that lead to 160 degree and other completion options including university transfer. TMCC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and competes in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.”

Locations of Other Clubs, Teams, Athletic Organizations

If not included in text or the opponent’s club or institution name, reference the location of other athletic clubs, teams, or organizations in parentheses after its name the first time it is mentioned.

• Example: Shasta College (Redding, CA) or (CA)
• Example: Blank Soccer Club (Mesa, AZ) or (AZ)

Ordinal Numbers

Use of ordinal numbers to reference time or periods during competitions is permitted for athletics releases. However, follow AP stylebook. Spell out first-ninth and use figures for 10 and above.

• Example: Mighty’s score in the 24th minute of the match was the Lizards’ first of the season.
• Example: TMCC went into the second half down 2-1.

Position Abbreviations

Follow AP Stylebook: Spell out position names the first time they occur in the text and follow with the abbreviation in parentheses. After the first mention, the abbreviation can be used throughout the rest of the text.

Student-athlete

Always use a hyphen; only capitalize if it begins a sentence or headline.

Team Names

The official team names for TMCC teams are as follows. These are to be used to formally reference a specific TMCC team.

• Men’s Soccer
• Women’s Soccer

Mighty Lizards vs. Lizards Names

The monikers “Lizards” and “Mighty Lizards” can be used interchangeably in reference to any TMCC team, but any content released should strive to utilize only one at a time for consistency.

For example, any article, announcement, game recap, etc., initially referring to a team as the “Lizards” should not also refer to them as the “Mighty Lizards” later in the text.

Title Capitalizations

Follow AP Stylebook. For titles, capitalize “Coach” if not preceded by a qualifying term, leave uncapitalized if preceded by a qualifying term, or if not being used as the name of a specific person.

• Example: Coach Hawkins spoke positively of his players’ efforts during the match.
• Example: Lizards coach Geoff Hawkins held extra training sessions to prepare his team.
• Example: The coach celebrated by running off the field.

TMCC vs. Full Spelled Out Name of College

Any references to the college for external, community-facing, or branding materials should contain mention of the full “Truckee Meadows Community College” name at least once, on the first reference if possible. “TMCC” can then be used after in the body of the text in reference to the college.

See Also: TMCC Lizards Website Style Guide

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Additional Style Information

For additional TMCC style guide information for online content, see Web Writing: Style and Appearance.

See Also: Brand, Logos and Colors