UA EDITORIAL STYLE MANUAL

UA

Acceptable short form or second referent for The University of Alabama, noun and adjective forms. Never use U of A.

UA is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The UA College of Engineering offers numerous scholarships.

United States, U.S.

May be used as a noun or an adjective. May be abbreviated when it is part of the name of an organization: U.S. Department of the Interior. Avoid abbreviating on first reference when referring to the nation itself, although U.S. is acceptable as a second reference and in tables and headlines.

University Core Curriculum

See Core Curriculum, University of Alabama.

University Honors Program, UHP

UHP is acceptable in all contexts as a second reference for University Honors Program.

University of Alabama, The

In 1974, The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama passed a resolution designating the proper name of "the institution [within The University of Alabama System] whose location is principally in Tuscaloosa" as "The University of Alabama." The board also authorized the use of "University" upon second and subsequent references, reserving the abbreviation "UA" for "internal use." Since 1974, however, "UA" has become an acceptable second and subsequent referent for The University of Alabama.

The official University style governing the treatment of the institution's name is as follows:

Always capitalize our proper name as follows: The University of Alabama. The list below includes all references in which the definite article (the) must be capitalized.

The University of Alabama
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
The University of Alabama System
The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama

When The University of Alabama is used as an adjective, use the with a lowercase t.

the University of Alabama campus
the University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences

In other words, "The" in the University's proper (and official) name is dropped when it's used as an adjective. If it wasn't, the result would be . . .

the The University of Alabama campus

However, adding 's after the name makes it a noun, so . . .

The University of Alabama's campus
The University of Alabama's College of Arts and Sciences

Capitalize University when it takes the place of our full name, but not when used in a general sense.

For more information about University programs and services, call us.
That is a University-sponsored event.
He attended a university in Montana.
That's what makes our university special.
This university opened in 1831.

upload (n., v.)

URL

The abbreviation URL is acceptable in all references for uniform resource locator, the address of a page on the Web.

use, utilize

See Appendix G: Usage.

userid

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