APPENDIX G
Faculty Handbook Style Sheet
G.1. Abbreviation
G.1.1 The following abbreviations may be used without a previous spelled-out use:
AAEEO NEH NSF TIAA/CREF US
G.1.2 The following are spelled out fully when first used each major section of the Handbook (§1, §2, etc.), and may thereafter be mentioned as shown:
Commonwealth of Virginia the Commonwealth, or Virginia
University of Mary Washington / Mary Washington College the University / the College (cf. G.4.1)
President of Mary Washington College the President
Rector and Visitors of Mary Washington College the Board of Visitors, or the Board
Rector of the Board the Rector
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty the Dean
G.1.3 The following are spelled out fully when first mentioned in each major section, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses, and are thereafter usually abbreviated:
American Association of University Professors AAUP
Educational Testing Service ETS
Faculty Senate of Virginia FSV
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia SCHEV
Virginia Retirement System VRS
G.1.4 Items particular to the College, mentioned repeatedly across several subsections or used in tabular material, may require abbreviation ad hoc (preferably after one spelled-out use, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses):
Bachelor of Arts B.A.
Bachelor of Liberal Studies BLS
Bachelor of Science B.S.
Faculty Handbook the Handbook
Promotion and Tenure Committee P&T Committee, but not the Committee
Rector and Visitors of the University of Mary Washington BOV
Teaching Innovation Program TIP
When not particular to the College or the University, similar items should be spelled out:
bachelor of science degree colleges and universities master of fine arts degree
boards of visitors doctorate peer institutions
G.1.5 The symbol § (plural, §§) abbreviates both section(s) and subsection(s).
G.2 Capitalization
G.2.1 Avoid ad hoc capitalization. The following examples are correct:
by unanimous vote of the faculty during the spring semester
presides over the meetings of the committee may be added to the credentials file
including his or her letter of exception an annual performance review for each
G.2.2 By institutional convention, rank is not capitalized:
retired at the rank of distinguished professor promoted from assistant to associate professor
when the faculty requires the chair’s approval the committee will elect a chair
but titles and awards are capitalized:
Chair of the Biology Department Executive Assistant to the President
will carry the title Adjunct Instructor is deemed Artist-in-Residence
Distinguished Professor recipient of the Grellet C. Simpson Award
thus:
with the concurrence of the appointee, the chair, the Dean and the President.
G.2.3 Campus operations, services, centers, departments and offices are capitalized:
Department of Information Technologies Power Plant
University Bookstore Office of the Registrar
Department of Physics Writing Center
G.2.4 College committees, associations, boards, councils and programs are capitalized:
President’s Senior Staff Women’s Staff Association James Farmer Scholars Program
Curriculum Committee Grievance Panel Honor Council
G.2.5 Named policies and documents of the College, the University, the Commonwealth and the US are capitalized:
Virginia Conflict of Interests Act Federal Family Medical Leave Act
AAUP Statement on Academic Freedom Honor Code, Honor Constitution
US Department of Education Title IX Faculty Annual Activities Report (FAAR)
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities Virginia Privacy Protection Act
but not, for example:
covered by the University’s civil leave policy and his or her letter of first appointment
G.2.6 Sections of the Faculty Handbook should be capitalized (though not italicized):
§3.15.5 Sabbatical Leaves Appendix A Section 2
G.2.7 Items in lists are not normally capitalized in the Handbook (cf. G.7).
G.3 Corrections While motions for the faculty are in the process of being developed, corrections—of style lapse (e.g., abbreviation, capitalization, punctuation); diction (e.g. confusion of effect and affect); infelicity of syntax; and inaccuracy of cross-reference, citation, or effective date—may be incorporated silently by motion-crafters, senior secretaries, and the Secretary of the Faculty. The sooner errors are noticed and corrected the better, but the Associate to the Vice President for Academic Affairs bears de facto responsibility for ensuring that appropriate language reaches the Board of Visitors for approval.
G.4 Definition
G.4.1 Using the terms “the University” and “the College”
G.4.1.1 When the reference is to something applying to the whole institution, the “corporate entity,” use University (capitalized). For example:
“The University subscribes to the Statement on Academic Freedom adopted by the Association of American Colleges in 1941, and to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) November 1970 statement on Freedom and Responsibility”
G.4.1.2 When the reference is to a group, process, procedure, policy, resource, etc. that is unique to (exists only at) the Fredericksburg campus of the University of Mary Washington’s undergraduate, residential college of arts and sciences (Mary Washington College), use College (capitalized). For example:
“The [Faculty Affairs] committee consists of six faculty members holding a rank above instructor and with a minimum of three years’ affiliation with the College at the commencement of service”
G.4.2 When there exists the possibility of confusion about an item (e.g., the term academic year, or a specified date), clarification should be included the first time the term is used, or the problem encountered, in each major section of the Handbook; thereafter, a parenthetical reference to the clarification should be used. Care should be taken that clarifications are consistent across sections.
G.5 Distinctive Treatment of Words
G.5.1 Key terms in a discussion are often italicized on first use, but should thereafter appear in roman type:
tenure-track faculty are elected to these appointments at various ranks termed visiting
this letter of first appointment constitutes will establish a tenure and promotion credentials file
G.5.2 A technical term, especially when accompanied by its definition, is often italicized on first use, but should thereafter appear in roman type:
academic year instructional faculty short list
G.6 Format Much formatting is controlled by the word-processing system in which the master copy of the Faculty Handbook is maintained (numbering of subsections, running headers, titles in appropriate typeface and point size, and consequent changes to the Table of Contents). However, observation of the following points will save labor:
G.6.1 The text, insofar as possible, should be flush-left and ragged-right (i.e., left-, but not right-justified), and should be single-spaced, with one skipped line between numbered items.
G.6.2 In composing documents for eventual insertion into the Handbook, use consecutive numbering (not outline or essay format, not letters or roman numerals). On the use of lists in the Handbook, see H.7.
G.6.3 Each new paragraph should be assigned a new subsection number and a title for easy reference. The number should appear in boldface followed by two spaces, then the section title in boldface (without terminal punctuation) followed by four spaces; text should then begin in roman type. In the few cases where titles of subsections are thought inappropriate, the subsection number should be in boldface followed by two spaces, then the text should begin in roman type.
G.6.4 Note especially Definition (H.4) and Distinctive Treatment of Words (H.5) in relation to where in the Handbook the document will be included.
G.6.5 Avoid mention of information that is likely to become dated quickly (titles of events, business hours); keep in mind the Dean’s Summer Memo as the more appropriate repository for such information.
G.7 Lists (cf. also G.2.7 and G.9.6)
G.7.1 When the context makes it clearer to create a brief list than to itemize within a paragraph (e.g. when several items are required to be included in some document or file), a bullet list may be used; in those few instances, further numbered subsections might be more of a distraction than an aid to clarity.
G.7.2 Items in the list are not normally capitalized and, depending on the sort of elements in the list itself, may or may not require punctuation:
List 1 List 2
• academic advising • Submit all final grades to the Office of Student Records,
• BLS portfolio assessment • return all library books and/or pay all library fines, and
• career advising • turn in all University-owned property
• club sponsorship .
• athletics
G.7.3 Lists are normally single-spaced.
G.7.4 For three or fewer items, incorporation into the paragraph is usually preferable.
G.8 Numbers in the Text
G.8.1 Whole numbers from zero to ninety-nine, round numbers, and numbers at the beginnings of sentences are ordinarily spelled out:
within one week (five working days) three years (or the equivalent) of full-time teaching
a teaching load of twelve hours per semester Five thousand dollars per year is awarded
So are common fractions and ordinals:
two-thirds of the members present the last-made amendment shall be voted first
Exceptions include tables of figures, contexts where numbers appear together in close proximity, time of day, and dates:
The collection contains some 300,000 catalogued volumes, approximately 1,500 current newspaper . . .
the ‘90s 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. revised 1990
G.8.2 In quasi-legal contexts, numerals may appear in parentheses after being spelled-out:
this process will not exceed sixty (60) days from the initiation of a complaint
G.9. Punctuation
G.9.1 Normal rules of punctuation apply to the Handbook.
G.9.2 Square brackets are used to designate particular actions taken by the Board of Visitors (specified in 11.3 below); other parenthetical remarks appear in ordinary parentheses.
G.9.3 Note the form of the em dash (—), en dash (–), hyphen (-), and examples of each, respectively:
em dash: term appointments—ones that will end after a specified term of service—are used
en dash: §§2.14.1–2.14.7.4 August–May academic year 2006–07
hyphen: whether full-, half-, step, foster-, adopted, or in-law institution-wide
G.9.4 Explanatory notes should appear parenthetically within the subsection to which they refer; if it is unavoidable that an asterisk be used to indicate a note to the text (e.g. the note refers to something within quoted material), the note should be placed immediately after the subsection, before any other numbered subsection.
G.9.5 Double quotation marks should not be used to indicate special uses of terms (cf. G.5).
G.9.6 Avoid ad hoc use of symbols and special characters (e.g., diamond bullets).
G.10 Spelling
G.10.1 Commonly misspelled words include: tenure-track, nontenure-track, full-time.
G.10.2 Treat as definitive the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, tenth or most recent edition; it represents recent lexical research and includes many terms that have entered the language with the spread of information technology.
G.11 Typefaces
G.11.1 Italics should be used:
G.11.1.1 for all publications of the College, even the ephemeral ones:
Academic Catalog Track Book This Week
G.11.1.2 for emphasis:
must have written permission the annual report is mandatory for
G.11.1.3 for the introduction of technical and specially treated terms (cf. G.5);
G.11.1.4 for foreign words:
emeritus/emerita curriculum vitae ex officio
bona fide pro tempore Summa Cum Laude
but not for commonly used Latin abbreviations (e.g., i.e., cf., et al., etc.).
G.11.2 Boldface should be used for section and subsection numbers and headings (cf. G.6).
G.11.3 Bold italics should be used:
G.11.3.1 for titles appearing within section headings:
5.3 University of Mary Washington Student Handbook
G.11.3.2 with square brackets (cf. G.9.2) to introduce Handbook revisions approved by the Board of Visitors after the most recent printing of the Handbook (i.e. on change pages distributed between printings for temporary reference);
G.11.3.3 with square brackets to introduce Handbook revisions adopted by the Board of Visitors without the formal approval of the faculty (e.g., Unsatisfactory Performance Review Policy).
G.11.4 ALL CAPITALS and BOLD CAPITALS should occur only in headings, not in the text. The text for first-level subheadings in all sections (e.g. §2.1 INTRODUCTION TO FACULTY GOVERNANCE) should appear in 12-point, BOLD CAPITALS (Times New Roman font).