Academic Terms

ALUMNA / ALUMNUS / ALUMNI
Any individual who attended Brookdale is considered an alumna/us. Alumnus refers to an individual male, alumna refers to a female. Alumni generally refers to a group of males, (alumnae for females) but can be used to refer to a group composed of men and women.

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
The first reference to any college award should be spelled out in full. In subsequent references, you can use the terms "scholarship" or "award."

The Walter E. Grove, Jr. Scholarship was awarded to Jane Smith. The scholarship was announced on ....

CERTIFICATES
Spell out and capitalize the name of a certificate if it is the official name.

Tom Davis received his Toyota T-10 Certificate at Brookdale.

COMMENCEMENT
Capitalize the "C" in Commencement when discussing the formal ceremony; lowercase it in generic usage.

Brookdale Community College's 40th Commencement will occur in the Robert J. Collins Arena. The college holds commencements to honor . .

TERMS
Do not capitalize seasons of the year when used to indicate an academic period, i.e., fall term, spring term, or summer term. Capitalize seasons only when used in a heading or when it is part of a formal program name.

Spring 15-Week Term 2012
At Brookdale, spring term enrollment is now 16,000 students.