APSU Style Guide
This comprehensive resource is designed to ensure consistency and clarity in all written communications associated with Austin Peay State University. Whether you're a staff member, faculty, student, or external partner creating content for APSU, this guide provides essential information on proper usage, formatting, and terminology specific to our institution. From academic titles to building names, and capitalization rules to date formats, you'll find clear, concise instructions to help maintain a unified voice across all APSU materials. Use this guide as your go-to reference for crafting professional, accurate, and on-brand content for Austin Peay State University.
academic courses
Capitalize formal course titles: English 1010, Mass Media Law. Do not capitalize a field of study unless it’s a proper noun: Austin Peay’s general education curriculum includes English, biology, and American history.
academic degrees
Avoid abbreviations like B.A. and PhD., and instead use phrasing such as: Fatima Kader, who has a doctorate in psychology.
Abbreviations can be used when identifying too many individuals by degree on first reference would make a sentence too complex. These should only be used after a full name and offset with a comma: John Snow, Ph.D., spoke.
Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, a master’s, etc., but there is no possessive in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science. Also: an associate degree (no possessive).
Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference.
academic colleges and departments
Capitalize the full names of university colleges, schools, departments, and divisions: College of Graduate Studies, School of Nursing, Department of Biology, Division of Academic Affairs. Lowercase these terms when not using them as part of a formal name: The biology department, the nursing program, etc.
academic titles
All faculty and staff members who hold doctoral degrees will be mentioned as Dr. on first reference, unlike the Associated Press Stylebook guidelines. On second reference, those individuals will be noted by last name only: Dr. Joe Jones and Dr. Sue Smith attended the conference in New Orleans. Jones chaired the event, while Smith served as the university delegate. Never abbreviate professor.
Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as chancellor and chair when used before someone’s name and lowercase elsewhere.
ACT
Use only the initials when referring to the previously designated American College Testing.
addresses
Use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd., and St. only with a numbered address: 601 College St. Spell them out and capitalize when part of a formal street name without a number: College Street.
Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name: Austin Peay is located near the intersection of Forbes and Robb avenues.
All similar words (alley, drive, road, terrace, etc.) are always spelled out. Capitalize them when part of a formal street name without a number; lowercase when used alone or with two or more names.
Always use figures for an address number: 9 Morningside Circle. Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth when used as street names; use figures for 10th and above: 637 Eighth St., 100 21st St.
Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address: 222 E. 42nd St., 600 K St. NW. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East 42ndStreet, K Street Northwest.
Use periods in the abbreviation P.O. for P.O. Box numbers.
Advanced Placement courses and exams
Use Advanced Placement on first reference. AP classes and AP exams are acceptable on second reference.
advisor
Not adviser.
alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae
Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) when referring to a woman who has attended a school. Use alum (alums in the plural) when referring to a gender-neutral person who has attended a school. Use alumni when referring to a group of graduates that includes multiple genders.
a.m., p.m.
Lowercase with periods. Avoid redundant phrases like 10 a.m. this morning.
Austin Peay State University
Use the full name on first reference: Austin Peay State University. On second reference, Austin Peay is an acceptable abbreviation, but AP is not. APSU may be used when limited space is available (such as in ad copy or flyers) or if the acronym has been established on first reference: Austin Peay State University (APSU). For internal communications, APSU is acceptable on all references.
buildings
Capitalize the proper names of buildings: Browning Building, Morgan University Center, Harvill Hall, Dunn Center. Abbreviate on second reference depending on spacing and the intended audience: Morgan University Center (MUC) on first reference, MUC on second reference.
Shorten extended titles when communicating with internal audiences and use the full formal title on first reference when communicating with external audiences: Felix G. Woodward Library on first reference with external audiences, Woodward Library on all references with internal audiences and second/further references with external audiences.
capitalization
Avoid unnecessary capitalization – use a capital letter if called for in a rule in this stylebook or the Associated Press Stylebook.
chairs
Use “chair” in all instances to refer to an individual who leads one of the university’s academic departments, regardless of gender: Dr. Joe Jones is chair of the biology department; Dr. Sue Smith is chair of the chemistry department.
class standings
Lowercase freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. Do not abbreviate.
class of
Capitalize “class” in constructions such as Class of 1949 or Centennial Class. Apostrophe use is acceptable: Class of ’49. When communicating with internal audiences, parentheses can also be used: John Smith (’49).
composition titles
Italicize the names of books, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, radio and television programs, lectures, speeches, magazines, and works of art.
dates
Always use Arabic figures without st, nd, rd, or th: Wednesday, March 20.
dean
Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name: Dean John Jones, Deans John Jones and Susan Smith. Lowercase in other uses: John Jones, dean of the college; the dean.
dean’s list
Lowercase in all uses: He is on the dean’s list. She is a dean’s list student.
emeritus
This word is often added to formal titles to denote that individuals who have retired retain their rank or title.
When used, place emeritus after the formal title, in keeping with the general practice of academic institutions: Professor Emeritus Samuel Eliot Morison, Dean Emeritus Ashanti Washington. Or: Samuel Eliot Morison, professor emeritus of history; Ashanti Washington, dean emeritus.
Fort Campbell Center
Use the Austin Peay Center at Fort Campbell. Do not use phrases like main, secondary or satellite campus to distinguish the Austin Peay Center at Fort Campbell and the Clarksville campus. This avoids indicating that one campus is more important than another.
governor
Capitalize and abbreviate as Gov. or Govs. when used as a formal title for a public official before one or more names.
Governors/Govs
Austin Peay’s mascot is plural: the Governors or the Govs in abbreviated form. In most instances, these phrases are not possessive: Governors Terrace, Govs ID Card. Plural possessive of the mascot – the Governors’ or Govs’ – should rarely be used.
GPA
Acceptable in all references for grade-point average.
healthcare
One word, no hyphen.
holidays
Capitalize the names of holidays, including federal observances: New Year’s Day, Groundhog Day, Easter, Hannukah, etc. Lowercase generic phrases that refer specifically to Austin Peay’s administrative closures: spring holiday, winter break.
honorary degrees
All references to honorary degrees should specify that the degree was honorary. Do not use Dr. before the name of an individual whose only doctorate is honorary.
legislative titles
Use Rep., Reps., Sen., and Sens. as formal titles before one or more names. Spell out and lowercase representative and senator in other uses.
Spell out other legislative titles in all uses. Capitalize formal titles like chair, city councilor, delegate, etc., when used before a name, and lowercase in other uses.
military titles
Use military ranks in front of an individual’s name on first reference, abbreviated as recommended by the AP Stylebook. Use the individual’s last name only on second or further references. Retired should be used as follows: They invited retired Army Gen. John Brown. Never use Col. (Ret) or other forms commonly used in military correspondence.
months
Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Spell out when using alone, or with a year alone.
offices
Capitalize when “office” is part of an official title: Office of Admissions, Office of Undergraduate Research. Lowercase when used informally: admissions office, undergraduate research office.
parking lots
Capitalize “Lot” in reference to any of Austin Peay’s numbered parking lots: Lot 42, Lot 7A. Lowercase in other uses.
professor
Do not abbreviate. Lowercase before a name, but capitalize Professor Emeritus as a conferred title before a name.
punctuation
In general, follow the Associated Press Stylebook guidelines. However, a comma should be used before the conjunction in most series: His grandchildren are Vera, Chuck, and Dave.
residence hall
Always use the building’s formal name on first reference and residence hall on second reference. Never use dorm.
resident advisor
Not adviser. Acceptable on second reference: RA.
room numbers
Use phrases like Morgan University Center 312 and Kimbrough Building 119 to denote specific locations within a building on campus. Include and capitalize room when communicating with external audiences: Morgan University Center Room 312.
SAT
Use only the initials in reference to the previously designated Scholastic Aptitude Test or the Scholastic Assessment Test: The students scored above average on the SAT.
semesters
Lowercase semester in general uses: spring semester, fall semester.
Capitalize the season when used alongside a year: Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
syllabus, syllabuses
Not syllabi.
telephone numbers
Use figures with hyphens: 931-221-7011. If extension numbers are needed, use a comma to separate the main number from the extension: 931-221- 7011, ext. 2.
times
Use figures except for noon and midnight. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 9-11 a.m., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
titles
In general, only capitalize formal titles when used directly before an individual’s name. Lowercase and spell out titles in other uses.
university
Capitalize when used as part of a formal name. Lowercase in all other uses, including phrases like “the university” that refer directly to Austin Peay.
university activities
Capitalize the names of all formal campus activities:
Homecoming, Govs Preview Day, Fall Commencement.
years
In general, when a phrase refers to a month and day within the current year, do not include the year: Graduation is scheduled for May 3. However, the year can be included in promotional designs for events such as lectures, recitals, and symposiums since these materials are often preserved as keepsakes.