UM-Dearborn Styleguide

This styleguide covers words, phrases, abbreviations, punctuation and information frequently used in UM-Dearborn communications. It is based on the Associated Press Stylebook. Questions not addressed here can often be answered by Googling your question and “AP style.” You may also email [email protected]. 

UNIVERSITY NAME

University of Michigan-Dearborn

Correct: 

University of Michigan-Dearborn 
UM-Dearborn

When used as a noun in a sentence, use the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Do not use “the” if abbreviated.

  • The University of Michigan-Dearborn offers practice-based learning in small class settings.
  • UM-Dearborn offers practice-based learning in small class settings.

Incorrect: UMD, UM-D, UM Dearborn, University of Michigan—Dearborn, UofM-Dearborn, University of Michigan - Dearborn, University of Michigan Dearborn

University of Michigan

Abbreviated as U-M or UM-Ann Arbor

University of Michigan-Flint

Correct:

University of Michigan-Flint
UM-Flint

 

ACADEMIC CALENDAR

The three academic semesters at UM-Dearborn are Fall, Winter and Summer (which could refer to Summer I, Summer II or the full Summer semester). Semester names (but not the word “semester” itself) are capitalized when referring to the specific semester

  • He is starting in the Fall 2023 semester.
  • She is graduating after the fall semester.
  • She interned in summer 2024 (unless the internship corresponded directly with the semester)

 

ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS

Programs, offices and units

For programs, units and projects with commonly used abbreviations or acronyms (e.g. IAVS, MSEL, ASB), spell out and capitalize on first mention. Acronyms are acceptable on second reference. Do not put the acronym in parentheses following first use.

So: The demo will take place at the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems. The IAVS is located between the Tony England Engineering Lab Building and the Mardigian Library.

Exceptions: 

Names of colleges can be abbreviated in titles, decks and subheads

Rooms and Buildings

Spell out names of buildings, and place room numbers before building names: 121 Natural Sciences Building.  Abbreviations of building names are acceptable on second mention if the text contains multiple references.

Other common abbreviations

GPA: Acceptable in all references for grade-point average.

GED: Acceptable in all references, but use as a modifier not a noun: GED program or GED certificate

FAQ is acceptable in all uses. 

SAT/ACT/GRE: Acceptable in all references for assessment tests.

 

ALUMS

As a general rule, use the gender neutral alum (plural: alums or alumni). 

Designate alumni with abbreviated class year preceding the name (no comma). Be sure the apostrophe is pointing in the correct direction (away from the number).

  • Tracee Glab (’01 BA) was appointed executive director of the Flint Institute of Arts. 

 

AWARDS AND HONORS

Dean’s List

Honors Scholar (not Honor Scholar)

University Honors

Honor societies: lowercase the modifiers unless officially part of the entity’s name  (e.g., Pi Tau Sigma, the international society for mechanical engineers)

 

COLLEGES,  DEPARTMENTS and NON-ACADEMIC UNITS

Colleges

Names of colleges are always capitalized. 

UM-Dearborn’s four colleges are:

College of Business
College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters
College of Education, Health, and Human Services
College of Engineering and Computer Science

Abbreviations (COB, CASL, CEHHS and CECS) are acceptable on second mention.

Note that Reporter eliminates the serial comma in the college names to adhere to AP style. It is acceptable to use the comma for other university publications if that is desired.

Academic Departments

Use uppercase with official or formal mentions of the department: University of Michigan-Dearborn Department of History. 

Use lowercase for informal references: Rudra Mehta is an engineering student.

Non-academic units

Names of offices and other non-academic units are capitalized when using the formal names: Office of Student Success. 

 

COURSE NAMES

Capitalize all the important words in course titles: e.g., Introduction to Psychology. Use Arabic numerals for numbers in a course name: Calculus 2.

 

DEGREES, MAJORS and MINORS

Academic Degrees

We typically do not list degrees after names. 

Only individuals holding MD, DO, DPM, DDS or similar degree should be referred to as Dr. So, in general, refer to faculty with their full title (e.g. Associate Professor of Sociology Jane Smith) or simply Professor Smith/Prof. Smith

Use an apostrophe and lowercase with bachelor’s degree or master’s degree; associate degree has no apostrophe. It is acceptable to drop the word degree for informal uses: She got her master’s at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. 

Use doctorate or doctoral degree instead of PhD, though PhD is acceptable inside a quote or to create variety if there are several mentions.

Use capitals and drop the possessive with formal uses: Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. But lowercase the major unless it is a proper noun: Bachelor of Arts in Arabic studies; Master of Science in mechanical engineering.

Do not use periods when abbreviating academic degrees. 

Subjects/majors/minors/concentrations

Words in subjects, majors, minors or concentrations should not be capitalized unless they are a proper noun: She graduated with a major in English and a minor in electrical engineering.

 

NUMBERS

In general, spell out one through nine, and use figures for 10 and above.

Ages

Always use figures with ages, and hyphens when ages are used as adjectives or substitute for nouns. 5-year-old girl; the school is for 5-year-olds; the boy is 5 years old.

Dates, decades, centuries, etc.

  • Centuries: Use figures for 10 or higher: 21st century, fifth century
  • Calendar dates: Feb. 8, 2018
  • Decades: 1950s (no apostrophe), Class of ’09
  • Academic year 2023-24 (not 2023-2024)

Decimals, percentages and fractions

  • Decimals: In most cases, use no more than two decimal places. The cost of living rose 0.03 percent. 
  • Use a figure/word combination for percentages: The stock market was up 3 percent. 3% is also acceptable.
  • Use figures with fractions: She was 2 1/2 laps behind in the race and then surged back to win. 
  • Spell out fractions less than 1: two-thirds, four-fifths

Millions, billions, trillions, etc.

Use a figure word combination: 1 million people. Also, no hyphen when using as a modifier: the $3 million budget

Numbers at the start of sentences

Spell out a number when starting a sentence. Forty years was a long time to wait. Years are an exception: 2016 was a pivotal election year. 

Sports

Examples: The Wolverines defeated the Buckeyes 27-17.  She went 3-for-5 (batting, shooting, etc.)

Time

  • Use figures except for noon and midnight. 1 p.m., 30 minutes. 
  • As a general rule, use a.m. or p.m. when denoting time. Use lowercase, with periods, a space preceding, no spaces between. Avoid the redundant 10 a.m. this morning. 
    • The event runs from 11 a.m –1 p.m.

 

TITLES/PROFESSIONAL TITLES

Professors & Adjuncts

  • Formal titles are capitalized when preceding the name:

Associate Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Sang-Hwan Kim is a leader in the human-centered design field.

  • Titles following a name are lowercase:

Mahesh Agarwal, associate professor of mathematics, has a passion for online learning.

  • Adjuncts at UM-Dearborn have clumsy official titles like LEO Lecturer II. Instead, just use Lecturer/lecturer, with the same capitalization conventions as above.
  • Only use Dr. in front of someone’s name if the person has a medical, dental or similar degree.

Administration, staff and other titles

As above, formal titles are capitalized when preceding the name, and lowercase when following (except for words that are proper nouns):

Vice Chancellor for External Relations Ken Kettenbeil has been with the university for 14 years.

Joan Martin, business librarian at the Mardigian Library, helped start the Living Library event in 2017.

University Chancellor and President

Chancellor and President are capitalized as a title before a name, lowercase after:

  • Chancellor Domenico Grasso
  • President Santa J. Ono
  • Domenico Grasso, chancellor of UM-Dearborn. 

 

STUDENTS

Use first-year student(s), not freshman/freshmen.

 

OTHER TITLES

Dr., Gov, Lt. Gov., Mr., Mrs., Rep., the Rev., and Sen. are abbreviated before names. 

Do not use Mr., Ms. Mrs., Mx. 

Sr. and Jr. follow names with no comma. 

 

Grammar and punctuation

COMMAS

As a rule, do not use the serial comma. However, for clarity, serial commas are acceptable when a list has two instances of “and” or if is otherwise necessary for clarity: 

  • She keeps chickens, pigs, cows and llamas on her farm. 
  • Lou eats apples, carrots, and peanut butter and jelly for lunch.

COMPOUND WORDS/HYPHENIZATION-

  • -less: No hyphen. childless, motorless
  • -like: No hyphen when using as a suffix unless the letter l would be tripled or the main element is a proper noun: shell-like, businesslike, Obama-like. Exception: flu-like
  • -plus: Use figures and hyphenate. They had 6,000-plus books in the library’s rare book collection. 
  • -wide: No hyphen when using as a suffix. Countywide, campuswide, departmentwide. 
  • Don’t use hyphens between adverbs ending in -ly and adjectives they modify: a badly damaged island, an easily remembered rule

TITLES OF COMPOSITIONS

Names of journals, newspapers, magazines and websites are capitalized without quotes: 

  • The New York Times 
  • the Detroit Free Press
  • Lowercase “the” when it is not part of the publication’s official title

Titles of movies, published articles, plays, operas, poems, songs, radio and TV shows, works of art, lectures, speeches, etc. should appear in quotations: This semester’s video club will discuss Francis Fukuyama’s talk, “Liberalism and its Discontents.”

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Administration. Lowercase: the Ford administration, the chancellor’s administration
  • Advisor: In a break with AP Style, we spell “advisor” with an “o”
  • Earth/earth: Uppercase only when referring to the planet: The trip from Earth to Mars lasts about 300 days. The drilling equipment dug deep into the earth. 
  • who/that: Who is the pronoun used for references to human beings and to animals with a name. Faculty who are at the top of their fields, not faculty that are at the top of their fields.
  • animals: Do not use personal pronouns unless the animal’s sex has been established. The dog was agitated, so it was barking all night. Tina was agitated, so she was barking all night.  
  • hashtags: Write the hashtag as it would appear online: The team created the #umdearborn hashtag in 2016. 
  • &: Don’t use unless part of an official name: AT&T
  • Familiar brands. Remember to capitalize familiar brands that serve as shorthands for a generic product category: Band-Aid, Kleenex. If possible, use the generic word: bandage, tissue
  • OK, OK'd, OK'ing, OKs. Don't use okay. OK?
  • Michigan degree: The “d” in “degree” should not be capitalized when referring to the U-M degree, unless it is in a heading
  • t-shirt: In a break with AP style, we use a lowercase “t”

Have an item you’d like us to add? Email [email protected]