Style Guide

Help us communicate effectively and consistently

We encourage our partners and students to help support The Consortium’s mission in all forms of communications. To support these initiatives, we encourage you to use the following style guide to ensure consistency and accuracy.

For questions about Consortium-related terms, grammar, language or logo approval, please call 636-681-5553. 

The Consortium Style Guide

In general, we default to Associated Press style when writing and editing. Below, we highlight certain exceptions or AP Style rules that we want to particularly note.

Tone & Voice

These words convey the personality and style of all Consortium communications.

The Consortium is:
Polished but Personable
Straightforward but Engaging
Sincere
Supportive
Passionate
Positive
Collaborative
Introspective
Conscientious
Forward-Thinking
Strategic

The Consortium is not:
Witty
Pushy
Political
Overzealous
Arrogant

Language
Avoid cliches and slang. Communicate clearly, directly and without hyperbole. Use supportive language, and convey a positive tone and outlook.

Imagery Guidelines

Use clear, high-quality, non-copyrighted images in all communications. For Consortium-specific photos from the annual Orientation Program & Career Forum, click here.

Below are the minimum number of pixels required to ensure the most visually appealing images across social media platforms:

Instagram: 1080 x 1080 pixels (square), 1080 x 1350 (portrait), 1080 x 566 (landscape), 1080 x 1920 (stories and reels)
Facebook: 1200 x 1200 (square), 630 x 1200 (portrait), 1200 x 630 (landscape), 1080 x 1920 (stories)
Twitter: 1024 x 512 (landscape)
LinkedIn: 627 x 1200 (portrait), 1200 x 627 (landscape)

For more information about image sizes for social media, click here.

Brand Elements

Primary Font: Bauer Bodoni
Secondary Font: Grotesque MT

Color Palette:

Logos:

Note: The Consortium shield may not be used in any capacity without the approval of The Consortium’s Executive Director & CEO.

Style Guide

In general, we default to Associated Press style. Below, we highlight certain exceptions or specific AP Style rules we want to call attention to.

The Consortium Network
23 member schools
1,100-plus current students 11,000-plus alumni
90-plus corporate partners

The Consortium References
“The” is to be capitalized when referencing The Consortium. The full name of the organization is The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management.

In text, use Board of Trustees or Corporate Advisory Board on first reference. Thereafter, use “the board,” “the trustees” or “the advisory board.”

MBA
The preferred style is to not use periods to abbreviate Master of Business Administration.

When plural, say MBAs.

Say “an MBA.”

Member Schools
See this page for the list of Consortium member schools by university and business school, with links and their year of entry into The Consortium. They appear on this page in alphabetical order.

When referring to a member school, include the full university and business school name on first reference, with no comma between the university name and the business school name (e.g., University of Rochester Simon Business School).

Phone Numbers
Render phone numbers using hyphens: 636-681-5449.

Commonly Used Words or Phrases

Alumnus, Alumni, Alumna, Alumnae
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.

Ampersand (&)
Use the ampersand only when it is part of a company’s formal name. The ampersand should not otherwise be used in place of “and” — with this exception: We use the ampersand when referring to The Consortium’s annual Orientation Program & Career Forum.

Capitalize
African American and Black, Latino/Latina, Hispanic, Native American

Proper nouns, months, days of the week — but not seasons

The official name of a department when used in text; do not capitalize the informal name (e.g., He enrolled in the Department of Economics. He enrolled in the economics department.).

Degrees
Bachelor of Fine Arts, but bachelor’s degree

Master of Philosophy, but master’s degree

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.

Use abbreviations such as BA, MA, and PhD — without periods — only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on 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 (e.g., Daniel Moynihan, PhD, spoke.).

Numbers
Spell a numeral at the beginning of a sentence.

Spell out whole numbers below 10, use figures for 10 and above.

Use numerals for ages, dimensions (6 feet), time and percentages (8 percent).

Spell out first through ninth. Starting with 10th, use figures.

For numbers larger than 999, include a comma preceding the hundredth place (e.g., 1,000 or 234,567).

Possessives
Generally, add apostrophe S, except in cases of plural nouns ending in S, or singular proper names ending in S, when we would add only an apostrophe (i.e., Achilles’ heel, Agnes’ book, Dickens’ novels).

States
In print copy, spell out the names of U.S. states when they stand alone. Use abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, county, town, village or military base. The following states have no abbreviation: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

Ala.
Ariz.
Ark.
Calif.
Colo.
Conn.
Del.
Fla.
Ga.
Ill.
Ind.
Kan.
Ky.
La.
Md.
Mass.
Minn.
Miss.
Mo.
Mont.
Neb.
Nev.
N.H.
N.J.
N.M.
N.Y.
N.C.
N.D.
Okla.
Ore.
Pa.
R.I.
S.C.
S.D.
Tenn.
Vt.
Va.
Wash.
W.Va.
Wis.
Wyo.

For mailing addresses, use the two-letter postal abbreviations only with full addresses, including ZIP code. You can find these abbreviations here.

Titles
Capitalize formal titles used directly before an individual’s name. Use lowercase when titles come after an individual’s name (e.g., President Barack Obama; Barack Obama, president of the United States).

Titles: Referencing Composition Titles
For book titles (except the Bible), movie titles, opera titles, play titles, poem titles, album and song titles, radio and television program titles, place these in italics. For the titles of lectures, speeches, reports and works of art, put quotation marks around the names.

Time
Use figures on most mentions. Use a colon to separate hours from minutes. Put a space after the number and use lowercase for a.m. and p.m. (e.g., 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m.).

Commonly Used Words
● cell phone, smart phone (two words)
● email
● fundraising
● home page
● internet – The worldwide research network of computers communicating in a common language — TCP-IP — over telephone or fiber-optic lines (now lowercase in all uses per the AP Stylebook, June 2016)
● multicultural
● nonprofit
● online
● prospective student
● RSVP
● underrepresented
● U.S.
● website

Formatting
Use one space after periods in sentences.

Grammar
Do not use the Oxford comma. Put commas between items in a list, but not before the final AND, BUT or OR (e.g., The Consortium is an alliance of MBA programs, corporate partners, current students and alumni.).