Value and Impact
SPS programs deliver pathways to leading-edge expertise and extraordinary careers.
Messaging & Editorial Guidelines
Use this section to find style guidelines for writing copy. Editorial guidelines are located below.
Personality, Voice, and Tone
Our communications convey more than information — they leave impressions that shape how each reader views SPS.
Personality
To ensure that our communications carry a strong and consistent voice, use these personality traits as a guide.
At Northwestern University School of Professional Studies, we are national leaders in continuing and professional education. We provide students with innovative pathways to achieve their goals.
We are:
- Ambitious: Driven, bold, and confident, without arrogance
- Innovative: Ever-evolving to meet the needs of our students and the marketplace.
- Collaborative: Partnering, when needed, with other Northwestern schools and outside organizations to deliver industry-best expertise to our programs.
- Supportive: Driving high academic performance and offering flexibility to accommodate working professionals.
Voice and Tone
Our communications should carry a consistent tone to express our personality.
Strike a positive tone
Much of what we do at Northwestern is serious and complex. Strike a professional and positive tone that focuses on impact, presents complex ideas in simple language, and celebrates successes — confidence without arrogance.
Consider the audience
We write for many types of audiences — prospective students, current students, and alumni are the groups that most communications are developed for. Identify your primary audience before starting to write. A positive and professional tone is appropriate for all audiences.
Communications to prospective students should have a more benefit-oriented focus. Prospective students are typically either professionals who want to build a specific set of skills in order to advance or redirect their careers. Or those who are considering a return to school and want to find out in a broader sense what we offer academically, what the student environment is like, and how they will benefit after graduation/completion.
Key Message Themes
Throughout all the diverse stories SPS needs to tell, some common themes arise. Keep these themes, which derive from our strategic pillars, in mind as you decide how to convey your information.
Powerful collaborations
SPS brings together thought leaders from industry and academia to offer outstanding educational opportunities.Innovation in Professional Education
SPS programs evolve to meet current and future market demands and are delivered in ways that meet the needs of working professionals.Multidimensional
Students have varied goals and backgrounds, and SPS offers programs in a wide range of fields and formats.Practical Matters
Keep these things in mind when crafting your messages.
- Brevity is important — keep it short and to the point.
- Clarity is key — use clear, simple language free from higher-ed or SPS-centric jargon.
- Keep your objective in mind. If there is an action step you want the reader to take, make it clear and easy to execute.
- Provide easy hyperlinks links to necessary information. Let the website do the heavy lifting with long, detailed information.
Editorial Guidelines
The helpful tips below address commonly occurring writing questions. Visit the A to Z Style Guide on the Northwestern Publications website for answers to other Northwestern-related style questions.
Nomenclature
There are several ways to represent the University and the School of Professional Studies.
Northwestern University
The full name of our institution is “Northwestern University.” Use the full name on first mention in publications and in any situation where it’s not immediately obvious that you’re referring to a university.
Northwestern
Colloquially, we all refer to this institution as simply “Northwestern.” This shorthand is acceptable in all content where it’s apparent that the communication is coming from a university. Using it can lend a more conversational tone to communications.
Northwestern University School of Professional Studies
On first reference, use "Northwestern University School of Professional Studies" to refer to SPS. "SPS" or the "School of Professional Studies" can be used on following references. The possessive "Northwestern University's School of Professional Studies" or "Northwestern School of Professional Studies" are not recommended for first reference.
Avoid: The NU abbreviation
"NU" is too generic to identify us and too casual to represent our University.
Helpful Tips
Editorial guidelines for commonly used content:
Oxford/Serial Comma
- Use a comma before and or or in a series (red, white, and blue — not red, white and blue).
Capitalization
- Do not capitalize job titles and course topics. Course titles, however, should be capitalized.
- Quarters (fall, winter, spring): do not capitalize.
Time of day
- Use lowercase a.m. and p.m.
- It is sometimes permissible to remove the periods in a.m. and p.m. in tables and lists if space is tight, but use the periods in running text.
- Noon, not 12 p.m. or 12 noon.
- In running text, do not use a dash in place of to in a range of times introduced by from (from 5 to 7 p.m., not from 5–7 p.m.).
- In lists, ranges of time can be separated by an en dash (5–7 p.m.) (Windows: Cntrl + -)
- Do not use :00 with a time on the website (only for formal usage).
- Do not use o’clock unless it’s in quoted material (only for formal usage).
Dates
- Use an en dash to show a range of dates and do not repeat 20 (2012–13, not 2012–2013). However, to, not a dash, should be used when from introduces a range of dates (from 2012 to 2013, not from 2012–13).
- Use the year with the month only if it’s not the current year.
- Do not use st, nd, rd, th, even if dates are adjectives (March 1 event, not March 1st event).
Degrees (academic)
- Do not use periods in PhD, BS, MBA, etc.
Numbers
- One through nine spelled out; 10 and above in numerals, except that numbers of the same category should be treated alike within the same context.
- First through ninth spelled out; thereafter, 10th, 11th, etc.
- Numbers beginning a sentence are always spelled out.
- For figures greater than 999,999, use million or billion (2.3 million, 4 billion).
- Use a comma in a figure greater than 1,000, unless it’s a date.
- For inclusive numbers, the second number should be represented by only its final two digits if its beginning digit(s) are the same as the first number’s (pages 343–47).
- In text, a dash should not be used as a substitute for to in a range (from 1967 to 1983, not from 1967–83).
School Names
- The full name of our institution is “Northwestern University.” Use the full name on first mention in any situation where it’s not immediately obvious that you’re referring to a university.
- Colloquially, we all refer to this institution as simply “Northwestern.” This shorthand is acceptable in all content where it’s apparent that the communication is coming from a university. Using it can lend a more conversational tone to communications.
- Do not use "NU" in anything but the most informal cases.
- University (upper case) — always capitalize when referring to Northwestern.
- On first reference, use "Northwestern University School of Professional Studies" to refer to SPS. "SPS" or the "School of Professional Studies" can be used on following references.
Admission (Office of Undergraduate)
- Note that there isn’t an s at the end of Admission.
Adviser
- Preferred spelling has er.
In addition to the suggestions above, visit the A to Z Style Guide on the Northwestern Publications website for answers to other Northwestern-related style questions.