Editorial Guidelines
Select style guide
This style guide is based primarily on the Associated Press Stylebook. Another resource for Alaska-specific questions is the AP Stylebook for Alaska.
A | B | C | D | E | G | J | L | N | P | S | U |
A
Alaskan
Use as a noun describing a person, not a place — never “Alaskan city,” for example.
alumni
Alumna is a female who has graduated from one of the three universities; alumnae is
plural for female graduates; alumnus is a male who has graduated from one of the three
universities; alumni is plural for male graduates and the term used when referring
to a group of men and women. Use alumnus when referring to a nongender-specific individual.
The gender-neutral forms alum and alums can be used in less formal contexts.
B
Board of Regents
The Board of Regents is a proper noun and must be capitalized when using the full
name: “The University of Alaska Board of Regents met on Wednesday”. Use regent or
regents to refer to the individual members. Titles for individual members should be
capitalized. “The motion was made by Regent Smith.” Use board to refer to the governing
body. Lowercase when used as a common noun – typically on second reference. “The board
met Wednesday”. Board takes a singular verb: “The board is meeting on the UAA campus”
and a singular pronoun: “The board met its budget goal”.
C
campus vs. college [UA system]
[Campuses] At UAF the community campuses are part of a consortium within the College
of Rural and Community Development (CRCD) with campus directors under the leadership
of the Vice Chancellor for Rural and Community Development. At UAS there are three
campuses, the main campus in Juneau and satellite campuses at Sitka and Ketchikan,
each with their own directors reporting directly to the chancellor. [Colleges] At
UAA each community college has its own director who reports directly to the chancellor.
At KPC there are two campuses and an extension site comprising the college. The PWSC
also has extension sites in Glenallen and Cordova in addition to the main campus in
Valdez.
capital, Capitol
Use capital (lowercase) when referring to the city where a seat of government is located,
the case of a letter, or a budget or monetary reference. Use Capitol (capitalized)
when referring to the building in which a state or federal legislative body meets.
college, colleges
Capitalize as part of an official name, lowercase in other instances. In System Office
communications, should always be preceded by the university name or initials, i.e.
University of Alaska Anchorage (or UAA on second reference) College of Engineering,
University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences.
D
Departments [System Office]
References to “Statewide” should be changed to “System”. Some departments use University
of Alaska in their formal title, such as University of Alaska Human Relations.
degrees
Capitalize when the formal title of the degree is given: Bachelor of Arts, Master
of Science; Lowercase when a shortened form is used: associate degree (no apostrophe-s),
bachelor’s degree, master’s degree.
E
Elders
Capitalize when referring specifically to Indigenous Elders.
G
governmental titles
Abbreviate in the following ways in text: Gov. Jay Hammond … Sen. Joe Smith … Rep.
Ann Jones …
J
job titles
When preceding an individual’s name, capitalize formal titles but not occupational
descriptions. Do not capitalize titles in regular text when not followed by a name.
Do not capitalize the job title if the person’s name is set off with commas.
L
Legislature
Capitalize when referring to the Alaska Legislature, but do not capitalize when referring
to the legislature in general.
N
Native | Indigenous
Capitalize when referring to people or individuals with ancestry in the Indigenous
peoples of Alaska. Do not capitalize when used in the sense of “indigenous to.”
Alaska Native, native Alaskan
Capitalize Alaska Native when referring to Indigenous people of Alaska. A native Alaskan
is a person born in Alaska who is not Indigenous.
north, North, northern, Northern
Do not capitalize when using as a general term. Capitalize when referring to the geographic
area.
numbers, cardinal
For print copy in most instances, spell out one through nine, and use figures (10,
27, 134) thereafter. See AP Stylebook for treatment in other situations.
P
percent
Use numerals and spell out percent or use the % symbol.
S
State of Alaska
In general, don’t capitalize state when used in its geographical sense, but capitalize
when referring to it as a political entity. Example: “John Doe moved to the state
in 1980” vs. “The State Department of Natural Resources” or “Governor of the State
of Alaska”.
System Office Staff Council (SOSC)
The staff governance group for System Office employees. Renamed from the Statewide
Administration Assembly to reflect the renaming of the System Office.
U
University, university
Capitalize as part of a title, lowercase in other instances.