Policies and Statements

Navigating the Policies and Statements Page

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• Equal opportunity statements
• Access and opportunity
• Artificial intelligence guidelines
• Additional reference

Equal opportunity statements

Nondiscrimination statement

For university publications, especially those used for recruitment:

The University of Mississippi does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status or genetic information.

Disability statement

For any university publication promoting an event or program that is open to the general public (and for invitation-only events as appropriate):

For accommodations related to a disability, call the Office of Student Disability Services at 662-915-7128.

Access and opportunity

Criteria for publications

Consider the following criteria when planning your publications:

• What is the purpose of the piece?
• What can be done to convey a message that's welcoming to all people?
• Does the piece support university strategy?
• Does the piece show a welcoming environment?
• Do you need to include the university's nondiscrimination statement?
• Should you include contact information for people who need assistance with disabilities?

Nationalities and races

Capitalize the proper names of ethnicities, nationalities, peoples, races, tribes, etc.: Arab, Arabic, African, American, Black, Caucasian, Cherokee, Chinese (both singular and plural), Eskimo (plural Eskimos) or Inuit, French Canadian, Japanese (singular and plural), Jewish, Nordic, etc. Refer to the AP Stylebook on the proper usage of names of nationalities and races.

Artificial Intelligence Guidelines

Artificial intelligence technologies can be useful tools when preparing content for news releases and other written materials. For example, AI platforms can help break down complex language or refine tone and voice.

However, AI should not be used as a primary method to generate copy for publication or distribution through university media channels. Additionally, any content created with the assistance of artificial intelligence should adhere to University Marketing and Communications AI guidelines.

Additional Reference

Addresses

Use U.S. Postal Service state abbreviations with no periods in addresses.

The university address is as follows:

The University of Mississippi
P.O. Box 1848
University, MS 38677-1848

Electronic conventions

Internet, web and email addresses should be written all lowercase, unless the address is case-sensitive.

• https://olemiss.edu

World Wide Web is treated as a proper noun and capitalized in all instances. However, lowercase web and internet.

Accepted spellings of electronic terms:

• online, not on-line
• email, not e-mail
• homepage
• website, not web site or Web site; webcam, webcast, webmaster

A long URL or email address may be broken and continued on a second line. Do not add a hyphen where the break appears; instead, make sure the break is after a slash or period in the web address. Adding a hyphen leads to confusion about whether or not the hyphen itself is part of the address.

Year 2000 and beyond

When writing any span of time that mixes 20th- and 21st-century dates, the full year must be given for both.

• 1998–2002, not 1998–02

When citing class designations, if classes from the 20th and 21st centuries are listed, the full year must be given for all classes mentioned.

• When the time capsule placed by the Class of 1955 is opened, members of the Class of 2055 will replace it with one of their own.

Do not attach the phrase the year to 2000 or beyond. Treat such references as any other year noted.

• The university celebrated its centennial in 1948.

Specifying B.C. or A.D.

When attaching B.C. or A.D. to a year, B.C. follows the date, and A.D. precedes the date. (Note that any date that is not B.C. is A.D. by default and requires no specific designation.)

When referring to a century in text, the convention of placing either B.C. or A.D. after the stated century is acceptable.

Degrees listed with alumni names

When listing earned degrees with alumni names, place the degree and abbreviated year in parentheses. Do not place a comma between the year and degree name. Do not use periods in the degree name, and do not use an apostrophe for the year.

• Glenn Boyce (BAEd 81, EdD 96)
• Jeff Hubbard (BBA 80, JD 83)

Mississippi cities

When including Mississippi cities in a publication, the state name is not needed unless to avoid confusion.

• Yazoo City, not Yazoo City, Mississippi, but Houston, Mississippi, to differentiate from Houston, Texas

Preparing text for publication

When preparing text for University Marketing and Communications, please note the following:

• University Marketing and Communications will require an electronic file of your draft text. Please consult with the office if you have questions about how to save your information in the proper file format. And please, no handwritten copy.
• Avoid the use of traditional typewriting conventions, such as the use of a double hyphen for an em dash (except in web text). Word processing software provides keystroke combinations or symbol sets to insert special characters into copy. Do not use double spaces between sentences, and avoid multiple tab keystrokes whenever possible. Since line endings will vary depending on format, avoid using hard returns, tabbing or other methods of breaking a line in the middle of a paragraph.
• Input all text without formatting different sizes and typefaces. Headlines should be keyed as upper and lowercase, although you may use boldface to distinguish from body text. University Marketing and Communications will perform specific formatting with page layout software at the time page proofs are prepared.
• When checking production page proofs, please use the standard proofreaders' marks. This will minimize any confusion when interpreting corrections.