Wikipedia:WikiProject Universities/Article guidelines

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This page documents an English Wikipedia guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should follow, though it should be treated with common sense and the occasional exception. When editing this page, please ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss your idea on the talk page.

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Continue upkeep of University Portal Work on articles that need cleanup. A randomized short list is here Create a page for each and every university and college and add {{infobox University}} for it. See the missing list for those institutions still awaiting articles. Place {{WikiProject Universities}} on every related talk page. Ensure Featured articles are consistent with the article guidelines.

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WikiProject Universities' article guidelines are intended to apply to all articles within the project's scope—in other words, to all college and university articles (and some related articles). While the guidelines presented here are well-suited for the vast majority of such articles, there exist a number of peculiar cases where, for lack of a better solution, alternate approaches have been taken. These exceptions are often the result of national educational differences. Articles for universities in the United States may differ slightly from articles in the United Kingdom. However, the guidelines are designed to apply to all universities. If something seems unusual or out-of-place, it may be worthwhile to ask before attempting to change it, as there might be reasons for the oddity that are not immediately obvious.

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Contents 1 Notability 2 Naming conventions 2.1 College and university articles 2.2 Disambiguation 2.3 Related articles 2.4 Lists 3 Article structure 4 Sub-articles 4.1 General splitting of articles 4.2 Sports 4.3 Faculties and academic colleges 4.4 Student life 4.5 "...in popular culture" 5 Neutral point of view 6 Example articles

[edit] Notability

All colleges and universities are notable and should be included on Wikipedia. For notability of sub-articles, see relevant guideline below. This notability guideline is an application of the general notability policy to the articles this project covers, not a replacement of said policy. Hence the guideline is not intended to lend additional support to deletion discussions. Although this guideline may be cited in these discussions, keep in mind that this is not a policy and should not be treated as such.

[edit] Naming conventions

This section is a complement to Wikipedia's naming conventions, not a replacement. Always consider the Wikipedia conventions first when naming a page.

[edit] College and university articles

1. Colleges and universities should always be named using the common (not necessarily official) name of the institution. This can often be determined by looking at current branding of a university via their website, published documents, and advertisements.
2. Capitalize every word in the title except for articles such as the, of, and and.
3. In general, do not use The before the institution name unless it is the commonly recognized name of the university, such as The College of William & Mary or The Art Institute of Boston. Institutions may be officially named using The (such as Ohio State University and George Washington University), however it is preferred that The be left out of the article name.
4. Never use abbreviations or acronyms in titles unless the institution you are naming is almost exclusively known only by including such terms and is widely used in that form. See Wikipedia:Naming conventions (abbreviations) for more information.
5. For universities that are part of a larger system, in general the university name is followed by a comma and the name of the city in which the institution is located. For example University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Diego. Some systems use at, which is acceptable (University of Colorado at Boulder). Most university websites should provide clarification, but in general it is preferred that all institutions in the system use the same naming convention. This may be overruled by common branding.

[edit] Disambiguation

1. Do not disambiguate unless a naming conflict exists.
2. Never make a disambiguation tag longer than necessary.
3. For institutions that share a name, both institutions should follow their name with the highest uncommon location in parentheses. For example, if there are multiple institutions with the same name in the U.S., put the state name in parentheses (not the city name) like in Augustana College (Illinois) and Augustana College (South Dakota). For institutions that have the same name between countries put the country name in parentheses.
4. Consider creating redirects to the correct page from pages with names similar to the correct one and from pages with names which are discouraged per this convention. Also consider adding hatnotes linking between articles with similar names.
5. Add a link to the institution on its corresponding disambiguation page, usually referenced by its initials such as MSU or UI. Some institutions may not have the same initials as others (UCLA or NYU) and can be redirected right to the university article without a disambiguation page.

[edit] Related articles

1. Never use an acronym in the name of an institution's related articles where one is not used in the name of the institution. The entire institution's name (especially any parenthetical disambiguation) does not need to be included in the name of a related article, however all related articles should follow the same convention. Examples: History of Michigan State University (rather than "History of MSU"), Oriel College, Oxford (rather than "UO Oriel College"), and, although lengthy, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (rather than MSU College of Human Medicine).
2. For university sports programs University can be dropped from the article name and instead followed by the team name. For example: Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears. Some institutions may keep University based on convention (New York University Violets). Also see #Sub-articles
3. It is acceptable to not refer to the university at all in the title of related pages, such as Lyman Briggs College.

[edit] Lists

1. A list article's title should accurately describe its content.
2. Lists should be named "List of..." (e.g. List of alumni of Jesus College, Oxford).

[edit] Article structure

The basic structure of a college or university article should follow the general format below. Sections may be expanded, customized, or moved depending on need and type of institution. It may help to take a look at some of our example articles before you start and/or edit your own. Make sure to always cite references.

• Infobox — All institution articles should have an infobox providing the basic details about the institution, preferably with an image of the institution logo. The logo image should have its own specific fair use rationale. Include as much information as you can, giving verifiable references to potentially contentious information such as endowment and enrollment.
• Lead — The article should start with a good lead section. This should include basic information like: the name(s) of the institution, location (city name; describe multiple campuses if present), founder and founding name, and affiliation with any larger university system or major local affiliate network, if applicable. Give other names for which the university may be known (e.g. Cal) and bold them, too. A thumbnail sketch of the dominant and distinguishing characteristics should be given in the lead, and expanded later. Attributes should include public/private, coeducational/single-sex, 2/4-year, religiously-affiliation if applicable, and type (liberal arts college, multi-school university, vocational school, research institution, community college, etc.) It should be mentioned whether it is an undergraduate-only institution, or if graduate programs are present (and if so, specific stand-alone programs like medical, law, and divinity schools should be mentioned). A thumbnail sketch should be painted in the lead which is expanded on later. This should include a flavor of the dominant or distinguishing academic or demographic characteristics. For example, "a downtown community college, which acts as a commuter campus for students in the __ area", or "a strong focus on science and engineering, with an international student body" or "a historically Black liberal arts college, famous for its literature and history programs". The lead should be a concise summary of the entire article - not simply an introduction. In addition, do not include images in the lead, they should be placed elsewhere.
• History — Describe the history of the college/university, including noteworthy milestones in its development. It is a great idea to include old pictures of buildings which no longer exist or photos traditions practiced centuries ago. You can find many old images on public domain image search engines.
• Campus — Describe the overall layout and size of the campus. Mention any important buildings and their architects. This section could include information about satellite campuses, study abroad sites, libraries (which are also often found in the research section), and campus design information.
• Organization — Discuss the structure of the administration and potentially include a list of the heads of the university. If this college/university has a special organizational structure, such as a residential college system, then it should be mentioned here. If the university is part of a larger system (as in University of California), mention this connection and provide requisite wikilinks. This section may be integrated into another section if it has minimal information or fits better elsewhere.
• Academic profile — This section contains information related to the academic environment. It would be appropriate to mention the notable academic divisions (such as faculties/schools/colleges) of this university. If there is a special course system, grading scheme, or requisites for enrollment, mention them here, too. Many articles describe their academic rankings here. Also, it may be worth mentioning information about admissions in this section.
• Research and endowment — This section may be included as a subsection of academic profile, but there needs to be information regarding monies spent on research, including any grants or special research projects. Capital campaigns and major endowment numbers should also be presented here, with any notable gifts being referenced.
• Student life — Mention the sports team(s) of the institution and what is notable about them. Here is also a good place to mention specific traditions of the college/university, like students' union activities, a student newspaper, fraternities, regular activities, etc. The heading may be changed accordingly in regard to the importance of sports, clubs, traditions, students' unions, etc. Larger institutions may desire a separate section for their sports programs. This section also includes residence life, student clubs and activities, and related activities.
• Noted people — This section is not for a list of famous alumni, but rather a description of notable academic staff and alumni presented in paragraph form.
• Notes/References — If you use the appropriate inline citations throughout the article (as you should), then this section is simply typing <references/> or {{Reflist}}
• External links — Give a link to the official website of the college/university, preferably in the English language.

[edit] Sub-articles

When university pages become too large or too comprehensive it may be beneficial to break off certain sections into sub-pages. When this happens, a summary style should be used in the institution's article. Occasionally these sub-articles can become excellent as well (see Campus of Michigan State University and Georgia Tech traditions). Which articles are notable will depend on the criteria for notability as well as the following criteria:

[edit] General splitting of articles

Separate articles explaining a college or university's history (History of Texas A&M University), campus (Campus of Michigan State University), and alumni (List of Athabasca University people — see lists guideline above) are generally notable only at larger institutions (student population above 20,000) or institutions where one of these aspects is especially important or significant. Smaller institutions with historical significance (like Harvard University) are an example of this exception.

[edit] Sports

Separate sports articles for institutions which have large sports programs are acceptable (i.e. Division I in the United States, and well-known programs elsewhere). Again, sports programs at large institutions or those which are significant may also have their own sub-article. For some larger sports program articles it is acceptable to create additional sub-articles for specific sports (Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football), seasons (2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team), and, although rare, games (2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game).

[edit] Faculties and academic colleges

If an institution's faculties, constituent academic colleges, or academic departments are especially notable or significant they may have their own dedicated article (e.g. Jesus College, Oxford, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania). In general these articles are not notable and should not be split off from the main institution article. If some faculties or academic colleges have significance and others do not, it may be the case that the institution's academic programs as a whole are notable. In this case it may be acceptable to create a separate academics article (see Michigan State University academics, Colleges of the University of Oxford)

[edit] Student life

Student life and university traditions articles are generally not notable unless they are remarkably significant or unique. Some articles satisfy this criteria (Fightin' Texas Aggie Band and Georgia Tech traditions). Wikipedia is not a place for cruft and we would especially like that to be the case for university-related articles. Also, per WP:ORG, students' unions/organizations/governments should only have their own article if they are independently notable. This means that they:

Have been the subject of coverage in secondary sources. Such sources must be reliable, and independent of the subject. The depth of coverage of the subject by the source must be considered. If the depth of coverage is not substantial, then multiple independent sources should be cited to establish notability. Trivial or incidental coverage of a subject by secondary sources is not sufficient to establish notability. Once notability is established, primary sources may be used to add content. Ultimately, and most importantly, all content must be attributable.

• The "secondary sources" in the criterion include reliable published works in all forms, such as (for examples) newspaper articles, books, television documentaries, and published reports by organizations—none of which should be written by any part of the union/organization/government or university itself. These sources may come from other universities or from the university press but never from the university which the group or organization is a part of.
• Press releases; advertising for the student group or organization; and other works where the group talks about itself—whether published by the university, group itself, or re-printed by other people—are not acceptable sources to establish notability.
• Works carrying merely trivial coverage are also not acceptable to establish notability. For example: newspaper articles that simply report meeting times or election results, or the publications of telephone numbers, addresses, and directions in business directories.
• Individual chapters of national and international organizations are usually not notable enough to warrant a separate article (even if the parent organization is notable). Local chapters may be notable if sufficient notability is established through reliable sources. However, chapter information may be included in list articles as long as only verifiable information is included. This especially applies to Greek organizations.
• Organizations whose activities are local in scope are usually not notable unless verifiable information from reliable independent sources can be found.
• The organization’s longevity, size of membership, or major achievements, or other factors specific to the organization may be considered. This list is not exhaustive and not conclusive.

[edit] "...in popular culture"

"University of X in popular culture" articles are generally not notable and should be integrated into the rest of the article. Most of the time these articles are indiscriminate lists. Although some of these articles exist (Yale in popular culture), they should and will eventually be nominated for deletion (also see WP:OTHERCRAPEXISTS). It may be the case that a particular academic program (film, radio, etc) is notable with regard to its portrayal in popular culture. In this scenario the pop culture info could be included in the academics section or article rather than creating a separate article for popular culture. If this happens it should not be a trivia list or section, but rather a collection of analyses regarding the university's role in popular culture using reliable sources.

[edit] Neutral point of view

Make sure to write from a neutral point of view. Wikipedia is not the place for academic boosterism. If you can provide factual records of rankings and success, that is excellent. With regard to controversies on campuses, if there is more than one view on the subject make sure to include all of them and to treat them as potentially true. For these, be sure to clarify that they are opinions, not incontrovertible facts.

Watch out for overly general and vague statements, such as "there are many who think University of X's business program is great". Such weasel words are not particularly factual and usually nothing but the author's opinions in disguise. Try to provide more specific information, and back the statement up with references to magazines, websites, etc. In addition, avoid peacock terms; these pieces of fluff actually lower the prose to an unprofessional level.

[edit] Example articles

Featured articles Cornell University Dartmouth College Duke University Fightin' Texas Aggie Band Florida Atlantic University Georgetown University Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering History of Michigan State University History of Texas A&M University Indian Institutes of Technology Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Michigan State University Ohio Wesleyan University Oriel College, Oxford University of California, Riverside University of Michigan Rajshahi University Texas A&M University Tech Tower The Green (Dartmouth College) Tuck School of Business Featured lists Colleges of the University of Cambridge List of Athabasca University people List of colleges and universities in New Hampshire List of colleges and universities in Vermont List of Dartmouth College alumni List of Dartmouth College faculty List of Georgia Institute of Technology alumni List of Georgia Institute of Technology athletes List of Institute Professors List of medical schools in the United Kingdom List of people associated with Jesus College, Oxford List of United States business school rankings List of universities in Bangladesh Featured list candidates List of University of Waterloo people Featured article candidates Featured article review Former featured articles Featured topics Featured topic removal candidates

Good articles Appalachian School of Law Ashland Community and Technical College Ateneo de Manila University Brigham Young University Campus of Michigan State University College of the Holy Cross Dartmouth College Greek organizations Dartmouth Medical School De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde De La Salle University-Manila East Carolina University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Florida International University Florida State University Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Tech traditions Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football Harold B. Lee Library History of Georgia Tech Jesus College, Oxford Litchfield Towers Marriott School of Management Massachusetts Institute of Technology McGill University Michigan State University academics Michigan State University Libraries New York University Patrick Henry College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Seton Hall University Tepper School of Business Thayer School of Engineering Traditions of Texas A&M University United States Air Force Academy United States Naval Academy University College London University College, Durham University of Bristol University of California, Santa Cruz University of Cambridge University of Chicago University of Glasgow University of Houston University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Dakota University of Oklahoma University of Oxford University of Santo Tomas University of Saskatchewan University of Texas at Austin University of Virginia Vanderbilt University Willamette University College of Law Good article nominations Good article reassessment