California Community College(s):
Capitalize when referring to the system as a whole or to a specific college; lowercase general references.
- The Community College/University of California Memorandum of Understanding
- He spent two years at a community college.
For a complete list of community college names, visit this link.
California State University:
Usage similar to that for community colleges (see above). Full names and accepted abbreviated forms are listed below.
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo)
- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly, Pomona)
- California State University, Bakersfield (CSU Bakersfield)
- California State University, Channel Islands (CSU Channel Islands)
- California State University, Chico (Chico State)
- California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSU Dominguez Hills)
- California State University, East Bay (CSU East Bay)—previously CSU Hayward
- California State University, Fresno (Fresno State)
- California State University, Fullerton (CSU Fullerton)
- California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State)
- California State University, Los Angeles (CSU Los Angeles)
- California State University, Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime)
- California State University, Monterey Bay (CSU Monterey Bay) (CSUMB)
- California State University, Northridge (CSU Northridge)
- California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State)
- California State University, San Bernardino (CSU San Bernardino)
- California State University, San Marcos (CSU San Marcos)
- California State University, Stanislaus (CSU Stanislaus)
- Humboldt State University (Humboldt State)
- San Diego State University (San Diego State)
- San Francisco State University (San Francisco State)
- San José State University (San José State)
- Sonoma State University (Sonoma State)
campus:
Lowercase, even when used with Santa Cruz:
- the campus
- the Santa Cruz campus
However, the UC Santa Cruz Coastal Science Campus uses “Campus” as part of its formal name, so it is capitalized.
catalog/catalogue:
Use “catalog.” “Catalogue” should be used only for publications that use this alternate spelling (such as UC Irvine General Catalogue).
cell phone:
Two words
chair:
Use instead of “chairman” (“the department chair”) for generic references. “Chairwoman” or “chairman” may be used with a name: “Chairwoman Janet Yellen.” For endowed chairs, use “chair holder.”
chancellor:
Capitalize when used with a name as a title (“Chancellor Cynthia Larive”); lowercase elsewhere (“Cynthia Larive, chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, hosted the event”). For a list of past UC Santa Cruz chancellors with dates of service, see below.
Chancellors, UC Santa Cruz:
Dean McHenry, January 1961—June 1974
Mark N. Christensen, July 1974—January 1976
Angus E. Taylor, February 1976—June 1977
Robert L. Sinsheimer, June 1977—July 1987
Robert B. Stevens, July 1987—July 1991
Karl S. Pister, July 1991—July 1996
M.R.C. Greenwood, July 1996—April 2004
Martin M. Chemers, April 2004—February 2005
Denice D. Denton, February 2005—June 2006
George R. Blumenthal, July 2006—June 2019
Cynthia K. Larive, July 2019—present
city, county, and state names:
- Lowercase “city”and “state” when used in the “state of” and “city of” construction (city of Santa Cruz, state of California).
- Capitalize “county” in Santa Cruz County or Los Angeles County; lowercase in the “county of” construction.
- Capitalize these terms if used as part of a formal name (“State Lands Commission,” “Santa Cruz City Planning Commission”). But lowercase when used as an adjective to indicate jurisdiction: “The state of California;” “the state Department of Transportation.”
class/year for students:
Use lowercase (unless the first word in a sentence): “first-year student,” “sophomore,” “junior,” “senior.” Note that “first-year student” is preferable to “freshman” (although the latter is acceptable). “Frosh” is acceptable in informal contexts and headlines.
coed:
Adjective use only, as in “coed dorms.” Never use as noun to mean “female student.”
colleges (UC Santa Cruz):
Also see the entry for divisions, departments, colleges, and schools. For UC Santa Cruz colleges, capitalize the full formal name and also the generally used college names. Lowercase “college” when used alone, as a general term, or in the plural. For example:
- Stevenson College, Stevenson
- Rachel Carson College, Rachel Carson
- John R. Lewis College (see note below)
- Kresge and Porter colleges
- the college system
- the 10 UC Santa Cruz colleges
John R. Lewis College: UCSC announced in October 2021 that College Ten would be named in honor of the late congressman and civil rights icon John R. Lewis. The formal name change took place in May 2022. Use the full name “John R. Lewis College” when referring to the college. Do not use shortened versions such as “John Lewis” or “Lewis.”
For College Nine, do not use a figure (IX or 9). For example: “College Nine was founded in 2000.” Acceptable short form once the college has been identified: “Nine.” The same usage applies to colleges at other UC campuses.
Capitalize the full, formal name and lowercase otherwise: “The College of Letters and Science is one of several colleges at UC Santa Barbara.”
commas:
These can be tricky! Please refer to AP and Strunk & White for specific usage questions. Here are some common issues:
For dates and times, use the following guidelines:
- April 1, 1950, was …
- April 1950 was …
- The program was scheduled for 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020.
A word, phrase, or clause that is in apposition to a noun, and that is parenthetical, is set off by commas:
- Washington, D.C., can be humid in summer.
- My wife, Amanda, works at the university.
- I live in Santa Cruz, which is south of San Francisco.
- That book, which was assigned for the course, is excellent.
If, however, the word, phrase, or clause is restrictive (identifies or restricts the meaning of the noun), commas should not be used:
- My sister Ellen works at the lab. (The speaker has more than one sister.)
- Milton’s work Paradise Lost is an epic poem. (Milton wrote many works.)
- The book that I received for Christmas was boring. (Use “that,” not “which,” in restrictive clauses.)
In a series, use a comma before the conjunction:
- Cowell, Merrill, and Oakes
Use a comma before a conjunction connecting two independent clauses (two clauses that have both a subject and a verb and could stand alone as separate sentences):
- Course 20 is required for the major, and students should complete it by the end of their junior years.
As a general rule, do not use a comma before a conjunction connecting a compound predicate:
- Joe bought two books and looked at the magazines.
comprehensive examination:
Use lowercase.
course names:
The full names of courses are capitalized. In text, the discipline and course number should be set in roman (not italic) type and the course title should be italicized. General course references are lowercase (except for proper nouns).
- She received a poor evaluation for Politics 20, American Politics.
- She took courses in French, military history, and statistics.
In a sequence of courses with a single title and course description, either of the following styles is acceptable:
- Chemistry 1A-B-C
- Chemistry 1A, Chemistry 1B, Chemistry 1C
credits:
Use numerals even for 1–9 (“5 credits”).