Typography & Editorial Guidelines | Jamestown Community College

Typography

JCC’s brand fonts are system fonts, and should be available on your computer. When writing on behalf of JCC, use the following typefaces:

Goudy Old Style: headers, callouts, and body copy
Arial: headers, callouts, and body copy
Rockwell: header or callout use only

Editorial style & usage guide

As the first community college in the state to be affiliated with the State University of New York system, we proudly refer to ourselves on first reference as SUNY Jamestown Community College. If the SUNY affiliation is already implied, Jamestown Community College is an acceptable first reference. If column inches or character limits prevent the inclusion of the college’s full name in a headline or tweet, SUNY JCC is an acceptable shorthand. On rare occasions (mostly athletics-related), Jamestown CC is also acceptable.

Please avoid using JCC on first reference in any case so as to avoid confusion with other organizations and institutions that utilize the same abbreviation. JCC is acceptable as a second reference.

Adhere to the following when writing for or about the college:

abbreviations

Use periods with abbreviations for A.A., A.A.S., A.S., B.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Do not use periods with abbreviations for JCC, GPA, FSA, SUNY
Form the plural by adding an s but no apostrophe: DVRs, CDs

academic degrees

Associate in Arts (A.A.)
Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)
Associate in Science (A.S.)
Also: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Sciences (B.S.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (M.S.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
For all of the above:
Use lowercase and, where appropriate, possessive in text: master’s degree in business administration, doctorate in political science.
A degree takes the indefinite article a: “He earned a Ph.D.” or an: “She earned an associate’s degree.”
Form the plural by adding s: BAs, PhDs, MBAs.

acronyms

Use only on second (and continuing references) and use caps, not periods:

Jamestown Community College: JCC
Grade point average: GPA
Faculty Student Association: FSA
State University of New York: SUNY
Exception: When placed in front of Jamestown Community College, the “SUNY” acronym is acceptable.
Spell out if not already implied.
General Education Requirements can be identified as SUNY Gen Ed or SUNY GER

alumni affairs office

Use lowercase for informal usage; capitalize formal name, Office of Alumni Affairs, only for official correspondence.

alumni/alumnus/alumna/alumnae

So as to avoid gender assumption, refrain from the use of “alumni” or any derivative thereof if an individual can be referred to easily as “A JCC graduate.”

If unavoidable:

Alumna is a female graduate; the plural is alumnae.
Alumnus (plural: alumni) is the masculine form, but it’s gender inclusive of men and women.
Avoid alum.

a.m./p.m. - time

Use lowercase with periods instead of “o’clock.” Do not use double zeros, e.g., 8:00 a.m.
- Examples: 8 a.m.; 7:30 p.m.; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; 3 to 4 p.m.
For time periods, use a hyphen in listings and from/to in text.
- Examples: 5-8:30 p.m. (in listings), from 2:30 to 4 p.m. (in text).
Official invitations might opt for more formal use of times, including “o’clock.” In formal invitations, spell out the time.
- Examples: six-thirty o’clock, eleven o’clock (which are exceptions to the rule on numerals).

Black; race

Capitalize.

See “race-related coverage” entry in the most current edition of the AP Stylebook.

Board of Trustees

Capitalize when used in publications or resolutions, i.e. SUNY JCC Board of Trustees. Use lowercase if possessive, i.e. Jane Doe is a member of JCC’s board of trustees.

brackets

Use square brackets, not parentheses, to add words to quoted material. (See Chicago Manual of Style 6.104).

campus buildings

The proper names and short code of each campus building, by campus, are as followed:

Jamestown Campus (Jamestown, N.Y.)

Katharine Jackson Carnahan Center (CARN)
Community Services Center (CSCE)
Hamilton Collegiate Center (COCE)
Hillsides Suites
North (HSSN)
South (HSSS)
West (HSSW)
Hultquist Library (HULT)
Maintenance Garage (JMAINT)
Manufacturing Technology Institute (JMTI)
Physical Education Complex (PHED)
Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI)
Science Center (SCCE)
Sheldon Center (SHEL)

Cattaraugus County Campus (Olean, N.Y.)

Allied Health & Sciences Center (AHSC)
College Center (COLL)
Cutco Theater (CUTC)
Dresser-Rand Training & Conference Center (TCCE)
Library & Liberal Arts Center (LLAC)
Maintenance Garage (OGAR)
Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI)
Olean YMCA/JCC Physical Education Center (PHYD)
Technology Center (TECH)

North County Center (Dunkirk, N.Y.)

Main Building (NCCC)
Training & Conference Center (NCTC)

See also: campus and extension center names

campus and extension center names

Campus or center is capitalized on single reference: Jamestown Campus, North County Center.

Use lowercase for reference to both campuses: Cattaraugus County and Jamestown campuses.

Jamestown Campus
Cattaraugus County Campus (not Cattaraugus Campus or Olean Campus)
North County Center (NCEC)

captions/cutlines

End with a period if caption/cutline is a complete sentence.
If the cutline is only a name to identify the person in a photo, do not use a period.

chair, board of trustees

Refer to the “leader” of the board of trustees as the “chair.”
Avoid “chairman” or “chairwoman.”
Example: “Mark Ward is the chair of the JCC Board of Trustees.”

class year

Avoid using "Class of" and refer to alumni as "a 19xx graduate of SUNY JCC." If unavoidable capitalize the word class when it refers to a specific year: John Doe, Class of 1973.
Names and class years can also be represented as: Jane Nelson Doe, ’80 (no brackets around maiden name, and class year is defined with an apostrophe).

co-

Retain the hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives, and verbs that indicate occupation or status: co-author, co-chairman, co-owner, co-worker.

college

Use lowercase unless accompanied by a proper noun.

Examples:

I work for Jamestown Community College.
I work for the college.
When referring to JCC, do not capitalize college in subsequent references: “The college’s soccer field was slightly damaged by flooding.”

comma

Use the serial (Oxford) comma: “Aaron, Bob, and Camille.” In a series consisting of three or more elements, the elements are separated by commas. When a conjunction joins the last two elements, use a comma before the conjunction.

commencement

It is generally not capitalized.
Should be capitalized with the proper name.
Example: "SUNY Jamestown Community College Commencement" but not if phrased as "SUNY Jamestown Community College's commencement."

course titles

Capitalize but do not use quotation marks: Her course, Microcomputer Applications I, is offered each semester.

coursework

One word.

dates

Use month-day-year sequence.
Use cardinal, not ordinal, numbers: June 30, not June 30th.
Do not separate month and year sequence with a comma: September 2018.
Use commas to set off the year when using full dates.
- Example: She was born June 7, 1992, in Salamanca.
Do not use commas when using only month and year constructions.
- Example: Planning began in May 2018.
Do not use 1st, 2nd, etc., with dates. Right: January 5, October 23. Wrong: January 5th, October 23rd.
Use the year if not the current calendar year.
- Examples:
  - Ed and Sally McCormick were married in April 2018.
  - The McCormicks were married in April.
Periods of years.
- Examples:
  - She worked from 1988 to 2019.
  - She worked in the 1990s (if a decade); avoid ’90s as a reference.

datelines

For Jamestown-specific news releases, utilize a JAMESTOWN, N.Y. dateline.
For Cattaraugus County-specific information, utilize an OLEAN, N.Y. dateline.
For college-wide releases, do not use a dateline.

departments

Academic: Use lower case for informal reference (business and social sciences division) but capitalize for formal reference (Arts, Humanities, and Health Sciences).
Non-academic: admissions office, alumni affairs office, student development office, registrar’s office.
- Capitalize the formal name: Hultquist Library, Learning Center.
alumni affairs office: Use lowercase for informal usage; capitalize formal name, Office of Alumni Affairs, only for official correspondence.

dollar amounts

Use a dollar sign followed by a numeral. Do not use .00 with dollar values.

Examples: $250 (not $250.00), $12,300, $5.3 million (not $5,300,000).

e.g./i.e.

The abbreviation e.g. means exempli gratia, or “for example.” It should be punctuated with periods and set off with commas.
- Example: Representatives from various areas (e.g.,criminal justice, business, engineering) were among the conference participants.
The abbreviation i.e. means id est, or “that is.” It is for listing the specific case(s) referred to in the preceding material. It should be punctuated with periods and set off with commas.
- Example: Please email your vote, i.e., aye or nay.

email

The “e” is not capitalized unless it’s the first word of a sentence.
- Examples: My email didn’t get through; Email is a great tool.
If an email address cannot be kept on one line, only break it at the “@.”

English as a second language

Capitalize only English, but the acronym is ESL.

faculty/staff

These are singular nouns, referring to groups. When used alone, treat it as a singular noun. To make it plural, use “faculty members.” When referring to the people who make up the faculty, say “faculty members.”

The word faculty is always lowercase. Faculty titles are lowercase unless the title precedes a name.

Examples:

Our faculty is the best. All of our faculty members teach multiple classes.
Also, “the staff is,” but “staff members are.”

fieldwork

One word.

first come, first served

Means the first to come is the first to be served. Do not hyphenate.

fractions

Spell out fractions: two and a half years; one-fifth.

full-time/part-time (adjective)

Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: full-time faculty member. However, she works full time at JCC.
If using both terms in the same reference: The Counseling and Career Center has postings for full- and part-time positions.

gender and sexuality

See “gender and sexuality” entry in the most current edition of the AP Stylebook.

geographical terms

The West, the Western world, Western civilization; the Midwest; the East; the industrialized North; the developing South; the third world.

Exceptions: western New York, New York state, northwestern Pennsylvania.

Examples:

We have a lot of tornadoes in the Midwest.
The East Coast can be cold in the winter.
The Western states are dry.
She is a Northerner.
Some New Yorkers can’t make up their minds if they live in upstate or downstate New York, but Jamestown is definitely located in southwestern New York.

homepage

One word, no capitalization.

hyperlinks/URLs

Use short URLs when referring to SUNY JCC's website and landing pages.
When creating a print document, you should not allow text to be formatted as a hyperlink. Microsoft Word automatically formats URLs into hyperlinks when you type them in. To correct this on a PC, right click on the blue URL and select “Remove Hyperlink.” With a Mac, go to the “Edit” menu and select “Undo AutoFormat” immediately after the automatic formatting occurs.

hyphens

Example of suspensive hyphenation:

He will give a 10- to 15-minute presentation.
Other hyphenation examples: decision-making, face-to-face, one-on-one.

Example of compound modifier:

“We invite you to attend an in-person open house.”
Wrong: “The open house is occurring in-person.”

See: in-person/on-campus

initials

Don’t use spaces between initials: J.R. Doe

in-person/on-campus

Hyphenate only when used as an adjective.

Example: “Join us for an in-person, on-campus open house.”

Do not hyphenate when used as an adverb.

Example: “The class will be held on campus and in person.”

internet

Lowercase.

it’s/its

“It’s” is the contraction of “it is” or “it has.”

Example: It’s not uncommon for this word to be used incorrectly as the possessive.

“Its” is the possessive.

Example: The group lost its president.

Jr., Sr.

Preceded by a comma: John B. Jones, Jr.

LGBTQIA+

See “gender and sexuality” entry in the most current edition of the AP Stylebook.

liberal arts

No hyphen, even when it’s used as an adjective: “a liberal arts curriculum”

names, personal

In text, first reference should include full name; later references last name only.

nicknames

Use quotation marks, not parentheses, for nicknames: Daniel “D.J.” Smith

noon

Use noon rather than 12 p.m. to avoid confusion.

numbers

Spell out one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and up. Follow style for ages as well: a six-year-old boy, a 47-year-old man.

online

One word, lowercase.

percent

With a figure, utilize a % symbol.

possessives

Singular common nouns that end in s: add ’s: “the class’s graduation party”
Singular proper nouns that end in s: add ’s: Weiss’s book, Texas’s laws, Congress’s deadline
Plural common nouns that end in s: add only an apostrophe: “the five cats’ bed.”
Proper nouns with plural form: add only an apostrophe: Los Angeles’, United States’

president

In a first reference to JCC’s president, give his title and full name: President Daniel DeMarte. Thereafter, refer to him as President DeMarte or Dr. DeMarte. But, “Daniel DeMarte is the president of JCC” (lowercase “president”).

pronouns

Use they/them, unless the subject provides their pronouns.
Use a person's name in place of a pronoun, unless the subject provides their pronouns.
Use the subject's pronouns that they provide.
Do not presume maleness in constructing a sentence to he/his/his.

quotation marks

Always place commas and periods inside quotation marks.

quotes or italics

Titles of poems, short stories, and short musical compositions in quotes; titles of periodicals, books, plays, movies, paintings, and long musical compositions are italicized.

room numbers

Do not capitalize the word “room” if used.

Example: Library & Liberal Arts Center room 308 (subsequent reference: LLAC 308)

semesters

Lowercase.

Example: fall semester.

spaces

Use one space after periods, commas, or colons when typing text. Do not use double spaces.

sports

Use dashes, not hyphens, in scores:

Example: JCC defeated GCC 73-71.

Lowercase names of individual sports: men’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving.

state names

Utilize the AP Style abbreviations for states. Only utilize postal abbreviations if including a full address.

student organizations & clubs

Capitalize.

Examples: Student Senate, Campus Advisory Board, Criminal Justice Club

telephone numbers

Use periods between sets of numbers: 716.338.1000, 716.376.7500.

theater/theatre

Some variations exist: Scharmann Theatre, Weeks Theatre, and Lenna Teleconference Theatre, Cutco Theater.

titles, personal

Capitalize when they precede a name as a courtesy title; use lowercase when they follow the name or stand alone.
Always place long titles after a name.

titles of works

Titles in italics: book, magazine, online magazine, newspaper, movie, play, long poem, work of art, opera or other long musical composition, television program or series, art exhibition, video or DVD, radio program.
Titles in “quotes”: comic strip, short story, short poem, song or other short musical composition, episode of TV series, college course (quote marks are not necessary in college catalogs or as part of a long list of course titles).

toward

Not towards.

trademarks

Capitalize trademarks (trademark symbol is not necessary).

underway

One word.

Example: The project is underway.

United States

Spell out as noun, abbreviate as adjective: “They were born in the United States,” but “the U.S. representative to Spain.”

web addresses

Break addresses only at logical places, not in the middle of a word or grouping. Avoid using long and complex addresses.

webpage, website

One word, not capitalized.