Common Words & Phrases

— C —

The California State University—The is part of the official name of this system and should be included and capitalized on covers, title pages, contents, headings or whenever the official name of the organization is called for. However, it should be lowercased in textual matter. Lowercasing the in text will avoid such awkward situations as "the University of California, The California State University and the California Community Colleges." Remember to use the before the abbreviation CSU when practical. (The CSU is increasing access, not "CSU is increasing access.") System is not part of the official name of the California State University and should not be capitalized.

California State University, Dominguez Hills—When referring to this university, include the entire name in the first reference and include a comma between University and Dominguez. CSUDH is preferred for subsequent references. Other acceptable names in second reference are CSU Dominguez Hills (no comma) or Cal State Dominguez Hills; however, the latter is less formal and should be avoided in more formal writing. Use of university is acceptable only when it is clear you are referring to CSUDH. Note that “university” is not capitalized.

campuswide—No hyphen.

child care—Two words, no hyphen.

— D —

doctoral/doctorate—doctoral is an adjective; doctorate is the degree received.

Dr.— When referring to individuals who have doctorates, the preference is not to use Dr. before their name in running text, but instead to use the formal/professional title given them by the university. (Professor of Chemistry Kenneth Rodriguez). Dr. is acceptable before a name in programs and lists. However, do not use both Dr. before the name and PhD after the name in the same reference, and be consistent throughout the document.

— E —

email—No hyphen. Lowercase unless at the start of a sentence, in a title, or as part of an address.

emerita, emeritus, emeriti—Emerita refers to a woman, emeritus to a man, and emeriti in the plural form, or as a gender-neutral alternative. The designation follows the main title and is capitalized with the main title if it precedes the name: Professor Emeritus Don Hata.

esports—one word, lowercase.

ex officio—The term, meaning “by virtue of office or position,” is two words, not hyphenated, italicized, or capitalized. However, if used with a person’s name in a list, capitalize both words.

— F —

faculty/faculty member—Faculty refers to an institution’s entire instructional staff and typically takes singular verbs when referred to the whole. (The CSUDH faculty is dedicated.) In referring to an individual, use faculty member. For a group of individuals numbering less than the entire faculty, use faculty members. If referring to a distinct group, use of the plural verb is acceptable: The anthropology faculty are conducting a dig.

faculty titles—assistant professor, associate professor, professor, professor emerita/us; For individuals hired on a part-time or full-time basis to teach in a department, use the titles of part-time lecturer or full-time lecturer.

FAQ—Do not add an s; FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) already implies multiple questions.

first annual—An event cannot be considered annual until it has been taken place at least two consecutive years. Instead of using first annual, use inaugural.

first-generation—Refers to a student who is the first (or one of the first) in their family to attend college or graduate from college (their parents or previous generations did not attend or graduate from college).

first-year student—The preferred term to freshman.

freshman/freshmen—The preferred term is first-year student. However, as a point of grammar, freshman not freshmen is used as a modifier (the freshman class); an easy way to remember is to ask would say “the sophomore class” or “the sophomores class”?

full-time/full time—Hyphenate when used as an adjective preceding a noun. Do not hyphenate when following a noun. (She has a full-time job. He attends school full time.)

— G —

gender—gender refers to a person’s social identity, while sex refers to biological characteristics. It is best to ask how a person would like to be referred. Unless the preferred gender is known, it is best to reword sentences to avoid gender pronouns.

GPA—Preference is to spell out grade point average in the first reference and the acronym GPA in subsequent references. Use two digits after the decimal when expressing grade point average (3.50 GPA).

grade letters—Do not use quotation marks or italics. Do capitalize. For plurals, add an s without the apostrophe (As and Bs)

graduate (verb)—Students graduate from CSUDH; they do not graduate CSUDH.

— H —

health care—Two words, no hyphen.

Hispanic—Hispanic generally refers to people living in the United States who have origins in Spanish-speaking countries. Hispanic and Latino/a/x are used interchangeably. Be consistent within a document. (See Latina/o/x)

historic/historical—Historic means important within the framework of history; historical concerns something that happened in the past. Both are preceded by the article a, not an.

— I —

interim, acting—Someone assuming the duties and responsibilities for an administrator temporarily on leave is acting. When someone has been appointed to fill a position while a permanent replacement is being sought, they are considered interim. Neither term is capitalized as part of the title (interim Associate Vice President Pat Smith).

— L —

Latina/o/x—Latina/o/x generally refers to people living in the United States who have origins in Latin America and the Caribbean. Latinx is acceptable as a gender-inclusive neutral term. If referencing a person, ask how they wish to be referred. (See also Hispanic)

login/log in, logon/log on, logoff/log off—One word if used as a noun or adjective, but two words in verb form. Note, log in, log off, log on are phrasal verbs; therefore when “to” is used after, the “to” stands along. (First, log in to myCSUDH with your campus login information)

Los Angeles—Use periods in abbreviation: L.A., L.A. County.

low-income—Preferred to words such as “poor,” “underprivileged,” or “disadvantaged.” (See also Pell-eligible)

— M —

minority/minorities—Avoid using. Instead, use people of color or students of color.

— P —

part time/part-time—Hyphenate when used as an adjective preceding a noun. Do not hyphenate when following a noun. (She has a part-time job. He attends school part time.)

Pell-eligible—Refers to students who receive federal Pell Grant aid. Often used interchangeably to refer to “low-income students” because the grant is given based on exceptional financial need. However, it does not refer to all low-income students because only U.S. citizens and citizens from another country with permanent resident status are Pell-eligible.

percent—Always spell out percent in text and use figures. (5 percent) Percent takes a singular verb if used alone (A 10 percent return is good.) or if a singular word is the object of of (Exactly 78 percent of the product is needed.). It takes a plural verb if a plural word is the object of of. (Almost 37 percent of baseball fans own a team cap.) The percent sign % is acceptable as part of graphics.

— S —

staff—Staff, like faculty, refers to a body of people and takes a singular verb. (Our staff is here to help.) Use staff member (singular) or staff members (plural) to refer to individuals, and the verb should agree with the singular or plural member.

statewide—Not hyphenated

systemwide—Not hyphenated

— T —

time of day—Use figures, except for noon and midnight. Do not use :00 to indicate the top of the hour. (We will meet at 1 p.m. (not 1:00 p.m.) to discuss the program.) Include a.m. or p.m. to indicate morning or afternoon times. However, avoid redundancies such as: We will meet at 10 a.m. this morning. Instead say: We will meet at 10 a.m. today. In running text, do not use a dash to indicate a duration of time (Not: The class went from 2:15-2:45 p.m.; Rather: The class went from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m.)  Dashes are acceptable in other forms to show duration.

theater—Use this spelling unless a building, program, or department uses the ‘re’ spelling (as in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance).

— U —

underrepresented—Refers to racial and ethnic populations that are represented at disproportionately low levels in higher education.

underserved—Refers to communities or students who do not receive equitable resources compared to others.

United States/U.S.—Spell out when used as a noun; U.S. (periods, no spaces) is acceptable as an adjective or as part of an organization’s name.

university-wide—Hyphenate.

— V —

vice president, vice chancellor—Do not hyphenate.