Style consistency ensures that all EICC departments and divisions are conveying the same message in printed materials. As in graphic design, this helps strengthen EICC’s identity. Like most colleges and universities, EICC adheres to the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook. This does not pertain to scholarly papers, works produced by the college employees for external organizations, classroom materials, grant applications, and publications produced by approved student organizations.

The information provided in this guide is not comprehensive. Please refer to a reputable dictionary, grammar manual, or the AP Stylebook with questions.

Gray circular icon with an exclamation mark, indicating an alert or important notice. Please note: Our EEO is a non-discrimination statement required by federal law and accreditation. It is required on all materials. Find the most up-to-date statement at eicc.edu/eeo.

Abbreviations

Acronyms

It's fine to use acronyms if you feel they're commonly recognized or if it helps avoid repetition. But always spell out the full name, title, or phrase the first time you refer to it in text, followed immediately by the acronym in parentheses.

Ex: Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) provides the hands-on training students need to enter the workforce. EICC has more than 32 career and technical programs.

Clinton Community College (CCC)
Muscatine Community College (MCC)
Scott Community College (SCC)
Scott Community College Urban Campus (SCC Urban Campus)
Blong Technology Center (BTC)
West Davenport Center (WDC)
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Addresses

Abbreviate “boulevard,” “avenue,” and “street” with numbered addresses.

Ex: Clinton Community College is located at 1000 Lincoln Blvd.

Abbreviate directions (N., S., E., W.) in street addresses.

Ex: 101 W. Third St., Davenport, IA

Spell out the names of numbered streets from First through Ninth.

Ex: She lives at 221 E. Sixth Ave.

States following cities in regular text should be spelled out in full and require commas before and after.

Ex: They visited Muscatine, Iowa, on their last trip.

Ampersand (“&”)

The ampersand functions as an abbreviation of the word “and.” Like most abbreviations, it is not appropriate in running text unless it is part of the formal name of an organization or place (Texas A&M University, the E. & L. Andrew Fitness Center) or part of a title (The Richard & Sophia D. Henke Distinguished Chair).

In other instances (headlines, invitations, address labels, etc.), especially where space is limited, ampersands are perfectly acceptable as long as they are used consistently.

Always use ampersands in web navigation menus and headings (Cost &Financial Aid, Classes & Programs), because lengthy text strings can negatively affect how information is displayed.

Months and Dates

Abbreviate months if you include a date: Oct. 10, 2004.
Do not abbreviate months when used alone or only with a year: October 2004.
Never abbreviate March, April, May, June or July.
For dates, use 1, 2, 3, 4, not 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.

Ex: "Scholarship applications are due July 1," not "Scholarship applications are due July 1st."

Academic Degrees

Abbreviations of academic degrees should appear capitalized, unspaced, and without periods:

AA
AS
AAS
BA
BS
BFA
MA
MS
MFA
PhD
DDS
LLM
MAc
PharmD

Associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, and master’s degree are lowercase and possessive. Formal degree names are uppercase and there is no possessive: Associate in Arts (NOT Associate “of Arts”), Bachelor of Arts, or Master of Science.

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas.

Ex: Frasier Crane, PhD, spoke at the ceremony.

Lowercase associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, certificate, diploma when used in a sentence.

Ex: Karen Bell received an associate’s degree in Supply Chain and Logistics from EICC. Do not add the word “degree” after an abbreviation of the degree.

Incorrect Form

She’ll receive her Ph.D. degree this fall.
He has a B.A. degree in English.

Correct Form

She’ll receive her associate’s this fall.
Joe Smith, PhD
Yes, they hold an associate’s in psychology.
He has an AA in English.

Capitalization

Academic Departments/Offices

Capitalize the name of the department and the words “department,” “college,” and “school” only when they appear as part of the official name. Lowercase when used alone.

Department of Radiology, radiology department, the department
Office of Marketing and Communications, marketing office, marketing, the office
The Center for Economic Development, the economic development center, the center

Academic Honors

Do not italicize or capitalize “summa cum laude,” “magna cum laude,” and “cum laude.”

Ex: She graduated summa cum laude from Muscatine Community College.

Academic Titles

Capitalize formal titles only when they directly precede a name (e.g., President Naomi DeWinter or Associate Professor Victoria Marr).

Lowercase titles when they follow a name, are set off by commas, or stand alone (e.g., Naomi DeWinter, president of Muscatine Community College or Victoria Marr, information technology professor).

Exception: Named professorships or endowed chairs remain capitalized in all positions — for example, Victoria Marr, the Smith Endowed Professor of Information Technology.

Muscatine Community College President Naomi DeWinter OR Naomi DeWinter, Muscatine Community College president
Associate Professor of Information Technology Victoria Marr OR Victoria Marr, information technology professor

In print, do not address individuals who hold a doctorate (or others without medical degrees) as “Dr.” Per AP Style, that title is reserved for people with medical degrees.

Also, do not capitalize freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, or graduate student.

College

The word ‘college’ is not capitalized when not part of a proper name.

Classes and Courses

Use lowercase when you refer to courses and classes (a course lasts all semester; a class is an individual meeting of a course), unless you use the specific name of a course or the course uses a proper noun or numeral.

Ex: I had a math class and a science class. I am taking Calculus II and Introduction to Spanish.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees should always be capitalized when referring to EICC’s Board. “Board” by itself is always capitalized, while “trustees” or “trustee” by itself is not capitalized.

Ex: The Board of Trustees will meet in November.
Ex: The Board will meet in November with most trustees attending.

Departments and Offices

Capitalize the names of specific departments, divisions and offices. Use lower case for the words “department,” “division,” or “office” when used in a general sense.

Right: She's going to talk with the admission staff.
Right: She's walking over to the Admission’s Office.

Majors and Programs

Capitalize majors, specializations or concentrations of study, e.g., Surgical Technology, Welding, CNC Machining.

But lowercase the word “program” if it follows the name of a major/program in a sentence.

Ex: The Sonography program has a 100% placement rate.

EICC Building Names

Bickelhaupt Arboretum
Blong Technology Center
The Button Factory
Clinton Community College Main Campus
Clinton Community College Maquoketa Center
DeWitt Career Advancement Center
EICC Administrative Office & Scott Community College Urban Campus
McAvoy University Center
Muscatine Agricultural Learning Center
Muscatine Community College Main Campus
Nahant Marsh Education Center
Scott Community College Main Campus
West Davenport Center
West Liberty Center
Wilton Center

Seasons/Semesters

The names of seasons and all derivative words (e.g., springtime) are only capitalized when part of a formal name.

Ex: Winter Olympics, Fall Development Day

Capitalize “fall,” “spring,” “winter,” and “summer” only when referring to specific semesters/start dates.

Ex: Fall 2025 Semester, Summer 2025, Register for Spring 2025

Internet Terms

“web” is lowercase when it stands alone.
“website” is one word, not capitalized.
“web page” is two words, not capitalized.
“webcast” is one word, not capitalized.
“internet” is not capitalized.
“HTML” is written in all caps (HyperText Markup Language).
“online” is one word, not capitalized.
“email” is not capitalized, no hyphen.
“livestream” is one word, not capitalized.

EEO Statement

EICC is dedicated to creating a welcoming and safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff. Required by federal regulation and accreditation, the college’s non-discrimination statement clarifies the college’s commitment to equal opportunity in employment and equal access to its programs and activities.

ALL marketing materials, institutional, and departmental publications that describe or invite participation at the college MUST contain this full statement:

It is the policy of Eastern Iowa Community College District not to discriminate in its programs, activities, or employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, and actual or potential family, parental or marital status, as required by the Iowa Code §§216.6 and 216.9, Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d and 2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy, please contact EICC’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer/Equity Coordinator, Eastern Iowa Community College District, 101 West Third Street, Davenport, Iowa 52801, 563-336-5222, equity@eicc.edu or the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Building, 1244 Speer Boulevard, Suite 310, Denver, CO 80204-3582, Telephone: 303-8445695. FAX: 303-844-4303; TDD: 800-877-8339 or Email: OCR.Denver@ed.gov

A shorter statement can be used in limited, special circumstances, but must be approved by the Office of Marketing and Communications. Before use, confirm that this statement is accurate and up to date at eicc.edu/eeo.

Faculty Ranks

The college has four levels of rank for full-time faculty:

Instructor: used for the first three years.
Assistant Professor: used after three years of employment with satisfactory evaluations.
Associate Professor: used if certain distinctions are earned and employed for at least six years.
Professor: used if certain distinctions are earned and employed for at least 12 years.

Faculty members may also earn Distinguished Faculty status. Usually, faculty who list it will state their Distinguished Faculty status and the year it was earned.

Numerals

Months When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Spell out 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 a month, day, and year are included, separate the year with commas.

School begins Aug. 25.
She was born July 7, 1962, in Iowa.
The seminar began Thursday, Nov. 14.
The grant ends in February 2014.

Do not use the endings “-st,” “-nd,” “-rd,” or “-th,” or any superscript on dates.

Do not use the word “of” between a month and year: “June 2012” not “June of 2012.”

Date and Time Ranges

When giving date or time ranges in running text, spell out the words “from,” “to,” and “between.”

Ex: He attended college from 1986 to 1990.

In other uses, use the en dash.

Ex: The 2023 – 24 academic year.

The word “to” (never the en dash) should be used if the word “from” precedes the first in a pair.

Ex: “She attended college from 1998 to 2002,” not “She attended college from 1998 – 2002.”

Similarly, the word “and” (never the en dash) should be used if the word “between” precedes the first in a pair.

Ex: “They met between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.,” not “They met between 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.”

Decades

For decades, use either all four figures (the 1970s) with no apostrophe before the “s,” or, if the meaning is clear in the context, the last two figures with an apostrophe to indicate the missing figures (the ’90s). When used in a compound form, use all four figures for clarity (the mid-1980s).

Centuries and Eras

For centuries, spell out first through ninth, use figures for 10th and above: “photography’s first century; 20th century art history.” Do not use superscript on the word endings “-nd,” “-rd,” “-st,” and “-th.”

Money

Use figures for dollar amounts. Spell out and lowercase the word cents for amounts less than $1. In running text, do not include “.00” in whole-dollar amounts.

Ex: The $5 transcript fee is included in the total.

For large sums, use figures with a dollar sign and spell out “million,” “billion,” and so on.

Ex: $1.8 million; between $1 and $2 billion.

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine and first through ninth. Use numerals for 10 and above, for ages, dates, dimensions, percentages, and page numbers.

Use commas in numbers of four digits or more, except when referring to years, addresses, and page numbers.

The school received 1,244 applications.
2110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Page 1556.

Do not use a hyphen when spelling out numbers that include hundred, thousand, million, or higher. Hyphens are only used in compound numbers from 21 through 99.

Ex: Three hundred students received scholarships this year. (correct)
Ex: Three-hundred students received scholarships this year. (incorrect)
Ex: Thirty-five students attended the virtual nursing information session. (correct use of hyphen)

If a number must start a sentence, spell it out — but it’s usually best to recast the sentence.

Ex: “Two hundred students attended orientation this fall.” could become “This fall, 200 students attended orientation.”

Percent

Use the percent symbol (%) with a numeral, in text and tables. No space separates the figure from the symbol.

Ex: The six-month placement rate for graduates in Sonography is 100%.

Use percent with a number, and percentage when no number is given.

Ex: The percentage of graduates finding work increased this year.

Telephone Numbers

For internal publications, write “ext.” before the extension number (not “x”). For external publications, include the full phone number with area code. Use dashes, not parentheses.

Ex: ext. 8044
Ex: 563-336-8044

Include the “1” before toll-free numbers only if required for dialing.

Ex: 1-888-336-3907

Time

Use a.m. and p.m. in lowercase with periods. Always use figures for times, except when referring to general parts of the day (e.g., morning, evening).

Ex: 7 a.m.; 10:30 p.m.; 12 p.m.; 12 a.m.

Do not include “:00” for times on the hour unless needed for clarity.

Ex: 7 a.m. (not 7:00 a.m.)
Ex: 7:30 p.m. (retain minutes when necessary)

For 12 p.m. and 12 a.m., use the number 12, not noon or midnight. This is an EICC-specific style decision intended to maintain consistency across digital and print materials.

Ex: The ceremony begins at 12 p.m.
Ex: Registration closes at 12 a.m. Friday.

Time Ranges and Sequences

Use an en dash (–) with a space on each side when indicating a range of times in schedules, charts, or lists. If the range crosses “a.m.” and “p.m.,” include both. Do not repeat “a.m.” or “p.m.” if the range stays within the same period.

Ex: 9 – 11 a.m.
Ex: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Ex: 4 – 6 p.m., not 4-6 p.m.

When using a preposition (such as “from”) in a sentence, use to rather than a dash.

Ex: from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (not from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.)

In narrative or sentence form (press releases, articles, or web copy), always use “from...to” rather than a dash.

The en dash format is reserved for visual materials and internal communications.

Time Zones

Use abbreviations only if needed for clarity or when referencing multiple time zones. Omit “daylight” or “standard” unless it’s essential to the context.

Ex: 9 a.m. CT; 10 a.m. ET

When clarity is needed, spell out the time zone on first mention and lowercase time.

Ex: The session begins at 9 a.m. Central time.

For events across regions, include both time zones or specify “local time.”

Ex: The webinar begins at 9 a.m. CT / 10 a.m. ET.
Ex: All times are local.

Plurals and Possessives

The full name “Eastern Iowa Community Colleges” is plural. When showing possession, use a plural possessive form (the apostrophe follows the s).

Ex: Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ commitment to student success.

When referring to the college system as a single, unified institution, treat it as singular.

This usage emphasizes the system as one entity rather than its individual colleges.

Ex: Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is committed to student success.

The abbreviation EICC should always be treated as singular and takes a singular possessive form with an apostrophe + s.

Ex: EICC’s programs prepare students for high-demand careers.

Use the plural form (Colleges’) when highlighting the system’s collective parts — Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott Community Colleges.

Use the singular form (Colleges is) when speaking about EICC’s shared mission, leadership, initiatives, or strategic goals.

Ex: Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ main campuses are located in Clinton, Muscatine, and Bettendorf. (plural)
Ex: Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is known statewide for innovative student support. (singular)

Punctuation

Oxford Commas

Always use the serial (Oxford) comma in writing. It ensures clarity and consistency in all college communications.

Ex: The students are enrolled in nursing, business, and welding. (correct)
Ex: The students are enrolled in nursing, business and welding. (incorrect)

This rule applies to all written materials, including internal and external communications.

Punctuation Spaces

Use one space after periods and all sentence-ending punctuation. Never use double spaces. Single spacing improves readability in digital formats.

Parentheses

Do not place punctuation inside parentheses unless the words inside form a complete sentence.

Ex: The student completed the course (with honors).
Ex: The student completed the course. (It was their final requirement.)

Punctuation with Quotations

Commas and periods always go inside quotation marks.

Ex: “The semester begins soon,” she said.

Colons and semicolons go outside quotation marks.

Ex: He called it “a milestone achievement”; we agreed.

Question marks and exclamation points go inside the quotation marks if they apply to the quoted material.

Ex: She asked, “Are you ready?”

Ex: Who said “Let’s go”?

Punctuation with Cities, Countries, and Dates

Use commas after the year in full dates and after the state in place names.

Ex: On Jan. 5, 2025, classes resumed. The Davenport, Iowa, native enrolled.

Website URLs

Avoid using “www.” in URLs.

Ex: eicc.edu Use short URLs (redirects) for marketing and student materials whenever possible.
Ex: eicc.edu/nursing

NOT:

https://www.eicc.edu/future-students/our-programs/nursing/index.aspx

When linking online, hyperlink the text rather than displaying a full URL.

Ex: Learn more about our [linked text: nursing programs].

For a full list of short URLs, visit eicc.edu/marketing.

Other

Things to Avoid

Avoid using “that” when it is unnecessary.

Ex: The course she took was helpful.

NOT:

The course that she took was helpful.

Do not leave single words (“widows”) or hyphenated fragments at the end of a paragraph or column.

Avoid slashes. Write EMT and Paramedic, not EMT/Paramedic.

Avoid using ALL CAPS for emphasis. Use bold or italic text instead.

Advisor

Use advisor, not adviser.

Alumna, Alumnae, Alumni, Alumnus

Alumna — one female graduate
Alumnae — more than one female graduate
Alumnus — one male graduate
Alumni — a group of male graduates or mixed-gender group

For gender-neutral or unspecified usage, “alumni” is acceptable and widely understood.

Ex: EICC alumni are encouraged to share their stories.