The color wheel demonstrates primary and secondary color combinations. The two tiers cannot be interchanged. The primary colors are maroon (PMS 195c) and gray (PMS 430c).

When used with the official logo and fonts, SCC's color palette supports a consistent and cohesive graphic identity.

Any original content is fine. If you create a graphic from scratch, write text from your own imagination, or create an original audio or video recording, you can put these on your Web page without worrying about copyright. However, you may want to ensure copyright protection on your original material.

Any work in the "public domain" is not protected by copyright. The trick is knowing what is in the public domain.

• The copyright has expired (author's death plus 50 years).
• The original holder of the copyright has given up the copyright.
• The federal government created the work.

Remember that these are not hard and fast rules. If you are in doubt as to whether material is in the public domain, ask for permission to use the material.

In the educational community the law is more lenient in regards to the Fair Use exception to copyright protection. The basic guidelines for fair use are:

• The use of the material is not for commercial reasons.
• Copying factual material is usually more permissible than copying creative works.
• The amount copied cannot be a substantial portion of the work as a whole.
• It cannot be used if using the material will have an adverse impact on the market value of the work.

Again, there is a large gray area in the fair use doctrine. If you're not sure, ask permission.

There is certain information that is not copyrightable. Facts, words, phrases or titles cannot be copyrighted. This would be the case with a link on a page. The link by itself is not protected by copyright (just like an address of a person). But, if someone compiled a page of links in an organized and meaningful way, then it could be protected by copyright (like a directory of law firms in the Midwest).

You can always have links to websites. The only time there could be a problem with having a link on your page is if you imply a relationship with or an endorsement of the site you are linking to (this is really only if there is some kind of commercial aspect involved).

The selection of information on a page, coordination and arrangement of a Web page are protected by copyright in the same way the content of the page is protected. The same guidelines stated above apply to the design in the form of the HTML code. In order to use the HTML code from a page you admire, you must save the source code to a disk or to your hard drive. The act of copying the code can put you in violation of copyright unless you can prove fair use. The best guideline for using HTML source code from other Web pages is not to copy large portions of the design or very original use of HTML code.

For more information, consult "Online Law," Thomas J. Smedinghoff , Editor, in the SCC Library in the Reference area, REF KF 390.5 .C6 O55 1996.​

A+ Program

according to, said – Use according to when attributing key information to a reference book or other inanimate object. Never use says. If the information can be defined as common knowledge, no attribution is necessary. Always use said when attributing a quote to a person. Use said to begin the first attribution. Said should follow the person’s name in any following attributions. Correct first attribution: “The curtains are green,” said Jane Smith, interior decorator. Correct second attribution: “The curtains are green,” Jane said. 

ACT – Use only the initials in referring to the previously designated American College Testing.

addresses – In return addresses and in running text, use the following style:

Address:

Barbara Kavalier, Ph.D.
St. Charles Community College, SSB 2104
4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive
Cottleville, MO 63376-2865

Running text:

Barbara Kavalier, Ph.D., St. Charles Community College, SSB 2104, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, Cottleville, Mo. 63376-2865

The college is located in Cottleville, Mo.

administrative officer – The president, four vice presidents and the chief information officer. Not interchangeable with Cabinet.

Adult Education and Literacy Department – Use full name in first reference. Abbreviation: AEL.

advisor – An academic counselor or club advisor.

All-College Day

Alumni Association – See SCC Alumni Association.

alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae, alum – Use alumnus (alumni in the plural) when referring to a man who has attended a school. Use alumna (alumnae in the plural) for similar references to a woman. Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women. Use of alum is acceptable when the gender is not critical to the context. 

amphitheater – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

and – In lists, do not place a comma before the and or or that appears in front of the last item in the list. Correct: Women, men and children are invited to attend.) Use and in place of & in running text.

assistant professor – Do not abbreviate. Lowercase in running text. See titles.

associate degree – Not associate’s degree.

Associate Degree Nursing – Not associate’s degree nursing or associate’s degree of nursing.

associate professor – Do not abbreviate. Lowercase in running text. See titles.

athletic field – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

atrium – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

attributions – Attribute quotations and paraphrased information to people in the following manner: “Chocolate is my favorite flavor of ice cream,” said Mary Jones, SCC student; OR Mary Jones, an SCC student, said that her favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate. See also according to, said.

auditorium – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

Barbara Kavalier, Ph.D. – SCC’s current president.

baseball field – See buildings/rooms.

Board – See St. Charles Community College Board of Trustees.

Board policy – Capitalize when it is followed by a specific number. Correct: Board Policy 101.1.

Board Room – Capitalize. See buildings/rooms.

Board of Trustees – See St. Charles Community College Board of Trustees.

bookstore – See SCC Bookstore. On second reference, use the bookstore. See also buildings/rooms.

buildings/rooms –

Building names: Spell out the entire building name in first reference. Exception: In mailing addresses and full addresses used in running text, it is acceptable to use short forms of building names. Correct: All entries should be mailed to SCC, HUM 203, 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, Cottleville, Mo. 63376-2865.

Capitalization: Building names are capitalized. Capitalize the names of specially designated rooms: Café, Plaza Bistro, SCC Bookstore, Board Room, Paul and Helen Schnare Library, Private Dining Room, Fitness Center. Other campus places are lowercase, including theater, atrium, auditorium, rotunda, baseball field, softball field, soccer field, campus plaza and amphitheater. Use figures and capitalize room when used with a figure. Correct: Room 1121, Administration Building. For offices of specialized services, see titles.

Sentence structure: Be consistent in use. Correct: The lunch will be held in Room 205 of the Student Center. The performance will be located in the auditorium of the Daniel J. Conoyer Social Sciences Building. OR: The lunch will be held in the Student Center, Room 205. The performance will be located in the Daniel J. Conoyer Social Sciences Building auditorium.

When using a building name and room number in text read by people internally, use an abbreviated style for the building name and room number. Correct: The meeting will be held in ADM 1121.

Buildings and abbreviations:

SCC Main – 1-SCM
Student Center – 2-SC
Schnare Library - 3-SL
Shook Theatre - 4-SH
McGuire Hall – 5-MH
Technology Building – 6-TB
Recreation Center - 7-RC
Campus Operations – 8-CO
Visual Arts Building – 10-VAB
Life Sciences - 11-LS
Conoyer Hall - 12-CH
Campus Police - 13-CP 
Campus Lake Apartments - 14-CLA

Center for Healthy Living - CHL
Field to Table Institiute - FTI
Technical Campus Wentzville - TCW

See also a map of campus buildings and rooms, stchas.edu/maps.

Cabinet  

Café – The cafeteria located in the Student Senter. See buildings/rooms.

Canvas

campus – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

campus plaza – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

Campus Assessment, Response, and Encouragement (CARE) Team – Use full name in first reference. Abbreviation: CARE Team.

catalog

Celebration of Life

Center Stage Theatre – See St. Charles Community College Center Stage Theatre.

club – Lowercase. Capitalize title of club when it is a part of the official club name; do not capitalize if it is not a part of the official club name. Correct: SCC Roller Hockey Club, Student Ambassadors club.

college, the – Do not capitalize the word college in instances where it represents St. Charles Community College. Capitalize in Board policies and legal documents.

college-level

College Meadows Park

College Mission – Use full name in first reference. In later references, the mission is acceptable.

college-wide

commas/semicolons in use of a series – When using a series of three or more items in text, do not use a comma in front of the conjunction before the last item in the series. For the web, a group of items should be displayed in bulleted list. Correct: My favorite colors are red, green, blue and purple. Also correct: SCC’s academic divisions include the Division of Business, Science, Education, Math and Computer Science; the Division of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; and the Division of Nursing and Allied Health.

commencement – Refers to the commencement exercises in May. Students may graduate in any semester if they have met their requirements.

committee/task force – Capitalize when named, otherwise lowercase. Correct: Diversity Task Force, the task force.

composition titles – See titles.

Copy Center – See buildings/rooms.

course names – It is acceptable to abbreviate a subject field when followed by the course number in text. Correct: ENG 101. For external documents the course name should be used and spelled out in running text. Correct: She taught English Composition I (ENG 101).

Cougars – Capitalize in such uses as Cougar fan, Cougar baseball. Use gender and sport name in first reference. Correct first reference: The women’s softball team is 10-4. Correct second reference: The Cougars have a 10-4 record. Punctuation note: In the phrase Cougars pitcher John Daniels, Cougars is primarily a descriptive so no apostrophe is needed. An apostrophe is necessary when the team name is otherwise used as a possessive: The Cougars’ 24-man roster.

CougarMail – One word; Mail is capitalized.

CougarNews e-newsletter – One word; News is capitalized.

credit class schedule

currency – When using a currency figure in text or titles, do not use double zeros when referring to an even dollar amount as in $5.00. Correct: He had $5 in change. She borrowed $2,500 from a bank. Ticket cost: $10.

 

Dardenne Creek campus – see St. Charles Community College–Dardenne Creek campus.

Day, date and time –Dates and times should be listed in the order of day, month, time. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. All other months should always be spelled out. When the time is listed at the top of the hour, do not use a colon followed by two zeros, as in 2:00 p.m. Correct: Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, 2 p.m. Correct: The event will be held Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, 2 p.m., in the auditorium. Use this in most cases including within text and in invitations. Use noon for 12 p.m. and midnight for 12 a.m.

Range of times – Separate with a hyphen. There should be no spaces on either side of the hyphen. Correct: 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

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. Do not abbreviate March, April, May, June and July. Correct: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Use full name when using alone, or with a year alone. When using a month and year, do not place a comma between the two. Correct: February 2012.

Datatel

dean – See titles.

Deans Council

degrees – 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 correct: associate degree

If mention of degrees is necessary to establish someone's credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase such as: John Jones, who has a doctorate in psychology.

Use such abbreviations as B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. only when the need to identify many people by degree in first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome. Use these abbreviations only after a full name – never after just a last name. When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: John Snow, Ph.D., spoke.

Ph.D., Ph.D.s – The preferred form is to say a person holds a doctorate and name the person’s area of specialty.

doctor vs. Dr. – Use Dr. in first reference as a formal title before the name of a person who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of podiatric medicine or doctor of veterinary medicine. Correct: Dr. Jonas Salk. Exception: The use of Dr. in first reference is acceptable in internal SCC publications like Chaz and e-Outlook.

SCC offers the following degrees and certificates:

• Associate of Arts degrees
• Associate of Arts in Teaching degree
• Associate of Applied Science degrees
• Associate of Fine Arts degrees
• Associate of Science degrees
• Certificates of Achievement
• Certificates of Specialization

Majors are not capitalized (except English, Spanish, etc.)

• Bachelor of Arts degree in history
• Bachelor of Arts degree in English
• Associate of Applied Science degree in computer-aided drafting

departments – See titles.

distance learning – See online/distance learning.

divisions – See titles.

Donald D. Shook, Ed.D. – First president of SCC.

Dr. – See degrees.

dual enrollment – Also dual-enrolled.

 

e – Words that start with e- (such as email and e-communications) should be capitalized only at the beginning of a sentence or in a formal title. With the exception of email, e- terms are hyphenated: e-newsletter.

email – Acceptable in all references for electronic mail.

English as a Second Language – Use full name in first reference. Abbreviation: ESL.

 

faculty – The faculty (n.) may stand alone for members of a school's teaching collective or be used to denote a singular member of the college faculty.

Faculty Association

Faculty Senate

Fall Fun Blitz

financial aid

fiscal year – Do not abbreviate except in graphs and tables.

Fitness Center

flier, flyer – Use flier when describing a handbill or aviator. Do not use flyer.

Foundation and Alumni– See St. Charles Community College Foundation and Alumni.

Foundation Board – See St. Charles Community College Foundation Board.

four-year institution

full time, full-time – Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier. Correct: He goes to school full time. She is a full-time student.

full-time equivalent – Use full name in first reference except in graphs and tables. Abbreviation: FTE.

fundraiser/fundraising – Hyphenation is not necessary.

 

GPA – Acceptable in all references for grade point average.
 

headlines – Only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. Follow story style in spelling, but use numerals for all numbers and single quotes for quotation marks. Exception: use US, UK and UN (no periods) in all headlines.

Help Desk – SCC’s technology help desk. Not the same as the Welcome Center.

HiSET – A trademark abbreviation for High School Equivalency Test, designed by the American Council on Education to measure high school equivalency. HiSET should be used as an adjective, not as a noun. Always acceptable in first reference. Do not capitalize test(s) or exam(s) when following HiSET. Those passing the tests earn a HiSET diploma or certificate, not a HiSET.

home-school – (v.), home-schooler (n.), home-schooled (adj.), home schooling (n.)

HR Connection – Refer to it as the HR Connection e-newsletter when needed.

hybrid courses

 

in-district

Information Desk – See Welcome Center.

in-service 

instructor – Do not abbreviate. Lowercase in running text. See titles.

in-state

Internet - Lowercase.See  web and website

italics vs. quotes – Use italics for composition titles. Exception: In news releases, use quotations. Italicize Web addresses in all instances. See titles.

 

John M. McGuire, Ph.D. – SCC’s second president.

 

 

mission statement – See College Mission.

more than – Generally use instead of over when referring to a “greater than” relationship. Correct: The College Fair will showcase more than 100 colleges and universities. Some exceptions may exist. Correct: She is over 30 years of age.

MoHealthWINs – For information, visit www.stchas.edu/mohealthwins

MoManufacturingWINs

money – See currency.

mySCC – the portal for students, faculty and staff.

 

non credit

non credit class schedule

non traditional

numbers – Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above. Exceptions: Ages, sports scores, credit hours, in headlines and at the beginning of a sentence. Correct: They had three sons and two daughters. They had a fleet of 10 station wagons and two buses. She ran four miles, and he walked 11. Twelve students gathered in the College Center.

Additional examples:

• Act 1, Scene 2
• a 5-year-old girl
• 3 ounces
• 4-foot-long
• 4-foot fence
• 6 percent, 1 percent, 6.5 percent
• a pay increase of 12-15 percent.
• a ratio of 2-to-1, a 2-1 ratio
• 1 in 4 voters
• a 4-3 score

 

offices – See titles.

online

online/distance learning – Refers to all distance learning course options: online, telecourses, teleweb and hybrid courses.

online learning – See online/distance learning.

out-of-district

out-of-state

over – Generally used when referring to spatial relationships. See more than.

 

part time, part-time – Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier. Correct: She works part time. She has a part-time job.

Paul and Helen Schnare Library – Capitalize. See buildings/rooms.

Paver Brick Program

Pell Grant

Phases 1-4 – Use Arabic numbers, not Roman numerals when referring to construction phases of the campus.

Phi Theta Kappa – Acceptable in first reference when referring to the Alpha Xi Chi, the SCC chapter. When clarification is helpful, use Alpha Xi Chi, the SCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Abbreviation: PTK.

phone numbers – Correct: 636-922-8000. Ext. 8000 or x8000 may be used for internal publications. Incorrect: (636) 922-8000 or 636.922.8000.

Plaza Bistro – The name of the cafeteria in the Student Center. Plaza Bistro and the Café are part of the college’s Food Services Department. See buildings/rooms.

President’s Council – Advisory group to the college president and Cabinet. Historically, Branch Committee, then TEAMVision, then College Council, then President’s Council.

Private Dining Room – Capitalize. Internal use only: SC PDR or SC Private Dining Room. See buildings/rooms.

professor – Do not abbreviate. Lowercase in running text. See titles.

programs – See titles.

 

quotation marks – See italics vs. quotations. See also titles.

room numbers – See buildings/rooms.

Ron Chesbrough, Ph.D. – SCC’s third president.

rotunda – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

 

SCC – See St. Charles Community College.

SCC Alumni Assocation – Also acceptable: Alumni Assocation of St. Charles Community College.​

SCC Board of Trustees – See St. Charles Community College Board of Trustees.

SCC Center Stage Theatre – See St. Charles Community College Center Stage Theatre.

SCC Foundation and Alumni – See St. Charles Community College Foundation and Alumni​​ .SCC Young People’s Theatre – See St. Charles Community College Young People’s Theatre.

SCCoop – SCC’s official faculty and staff e-newsletter.

school – Capitalize when part of a proper name. Use college, not school when referring to SCC.

Scooter McCougar – SCC mascot, born April 1, 1986. Scooter may be used on second reference.

Scooter’s Place – The cafeteria located in the Student Center. To help readers understand its location, include “in the Student Center” in first reference. See buildings/rooms.

semester – Capitalize if used in this manner: Spring Semester 2012, but not spring semester or last semester.

sentence spacing – Use only one space between sentences.

service area

smoke-free

soccer field – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

softball field – Lowercase. See buildings/rooms.

Spring Fling

St. Charles Community College – Do not use Saint Charles Community College or St. Charles County Community College. On second reference and in all internal publications and documents, the abbreviation SCC is acceptable. Never abbreviate as SCCC or SCCCC.

St. Charles Community College Board of Trustees – Use in first reference Internally, SCC Board of Trustees or Board of Trustees is acceptable in first reference. On external second reference, SCC Board of Trustees or SCC Board is acceptable. On internal second reference, Board of Trustees or Board is acceptable.

St. Charles Community College Center Stage Theatre – Use full name in first reference. On second reference, SCC Center Stage Theatre or Center Stage Theatre is acceptable. Internally, Center Stage Theatre is acceptable in all references. See also theater.

St. Charles Community College Foundation and Alumni – Use in first reference. Internally, SCC Foundation and Alumni​ or Foundation and Alumni is acceptable in all references. On external second reference, SCC Foundation Alumni is acceptable.

St. Charles Community College Foundation Board – Use in first reference. Internally, SCC Foundation Board or Foundation Board is acceptable in first reference. On external second reference, SCC Foundation Board is acceptable. On internal second reference, Foundation Board is acceptable.

St. Charles Community College Young People’s Theatre – Use full name in first reference. On second reference, SCC Young People’s Theatre or Young People’s Theatre is acceptable. Internally, Young People’s Theatre is acceptable in all references. Internal abbreviation: YPT. See also theater.

St. Charles Community College–Dardenne Creek campus, SCC–Dardenne Creek campus – Use full name of the campus in first reference to St. Charles Community College. Use SCC–Dardenne Creek campus or just the Dardenne Creek campus in second reference to the college.

staff – Lowercase. Use when referring to employees who are not faculty.

Student Government Association – SGA is appropriate on second reference.

Student Handbook

student ID – Not student I.D. (student IDs in the plural)

 

TEAMVision – See College Council.

telecourses

teleweb courses

theater vs. theatre – Use “theater” when referring to the physical space where theatrical and other productions occur. Use “theatre” when referring to the art or activity that occurs inside a theater. Always use a company’s official, desired spelling in formal titles. Correct: Center Stage Theatre, Young People’s Theatre. See also buildings/rooms.

time – See day, date and time.

titles –

job titles

Capitalize and spell out formal titles when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere. Correct: John Doe, professor of science, works at SCC. Jane Smith, vice president for external affairs, is chair of the committee. Or, Professor of Science John Doe, works at SCC.

job titles for faculty

At SCC, faculty titles are instructor, assistant professor, associate professor and professor (in ascending order). Faculty emeritus is the title given to full-time faculty who have retired and return to SCC to teach part-time.

programs, departments, divisions, offices

When using the proper name of a program, office, department or division, capitalize the main words in the phrase. Examples:

• Office of Academic and Student Affairs
• Division of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• Continuing Education Department
• Enrollment Services Department
• Education Program
• Health Occupations Program
• Business and Industry Program
• Student Activities Office
• Accessibility Services Office
• Assessment Center
• Career Services Center

composition titles

Apply the guidelines listed here to book titles, movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album and song titles, radio and television program titles, computer game titles, and the titles of lectures, speeches and works of art.

The guidelines, followed by a block of examples:

• Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.
• Capitalize an article – the, a, an – or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title.
• Use italics for names of all such works except the Bible and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material. Exception: Use quotation marks instead of italics in news releases. Use single quotation marks in headlines to set off a composition title.

publication titles   

 Do not italicize or put in quotes the titles of newspapers or magazines.

 

United States – Use periods in the abbreviation, U.S. within texts. Correct in headlines: US (no periods).

University of Missouri-Columbia – Use in first reference. With a hyphen with no space before and after the hyphen. MU or Mizzou, not UMC, on second reference.

University of Missouri-St. Louis – Use in first reference with a hyphen with no space before and after the hyphen. UMSL is acceptable in second reference.

 

vice president – No hyphen.

web - Short form of World Wide Web, it is a service, or set of standards, that enables the publishing of multimedia documents on the internet. The web is not the same as the internet, but is a subset; other applications, such as email, exist on the internet. Capitalization is not necessary.

website - One word (not web site). Also, webcam, webcast and webmaster. But as a short form and in terms with separate words, the web, web page and web feed. The college has one website. Each department has a departmental web page.

 

 

years – In cases where the century does not change, inclusive years should be formatted as follows: 1998-99, 2004-05. Decades should be formatted as follows: ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s. See also day, date and time.

Young People’s Theatre – See St. Charles Community College Young People’s Theatre.

 

 

Photo subjects should be in focus and free of clutter. Subjects should be somewhat distant from their background to create a soft/out-of-focus background feel. This is the photograph’s depth of field.

Subjects should be positioned to either the left or right side of the frame and are shown from the waist up or closer. Do not flip the image horizontally in layout. Only in extreme circumstances is this permitted.

Print Reproduction - Images need to be 300 dpi (dots per inch) and set to the CMYK color profile. JPEG or TIFF are the best file formats supported for print reproduction.

Web - A computer monitor is set to display at 72 dpi. Images can be saved in three different formats – JPEG, GIF and PNG. The format you use may affect the quality of the image. The JPEG format is best used when there is a lot of color in a picture and storing a photograph. The GIF or PNG formats are best used when there are few colors in a picture, if transparency is desired or when storing line drawings, text and/or graphics. Web image files work only when set to the RGB color profile.

Permission must be obtained from student models who appear in photographs intended for marketing and advertising purposes. Have the model fill out the Model Release Form before taking the photo(s).

While no cost is associated with sharing SCC photographs, they cannot be released to the public until they have met their primary purpose (i.e. printed materials, Facebook, website, etc.).

 

Contact the Marketing and Communications Department at mac@stchas.edu for more information.