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Marketing and Communications

Sharing Our Story

Our messaging should be inspirational and aspirational, and written in a positive, encouraging or supportive tone. Please review correspondence carefully to check spelling and grammar before sharing with your intended audience. If you need writing assistance, contact the Marketing Department.

Mission and Vision

The mission of OCtech is to provide relevant training and education in a safe, diverse, flexible and inclusive environment that promotes success and self-reliance for students, and fosters economic development for the region.

Our vision is to engage, empower and transform our students.

The following tagline supports the college’s mission and vision. Connecting People to Possibilities is the culmination of focus groups and a survey that helped us redefine our value to the community by highlighting what makes OCtech special compared to other colleges. We offer students a life-changing experience on their road from college to career.

Connecting people to possibilities

Connecting People to Possibilities

Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College connects people to possibilities. From career training to course transfer, student success is our top priority, and our small classes, flexible schedules, engaged faculty and supportive staff help students reach their goals. We offer technical and trade skills local employers want that lead to excellent careers and competitive pay in less time, and help students build the confidence to continue their educational journey at one of our state’s four-year colleges or universities. Whatever path they choose, OCtech is there every step of the way.

Website Accuracy

While the Marketing Department is responsible for developing and maintaining the college website, octech.edu, all college employees contribute to its accuracy. Each employee is responsible for periodically reviewing their directory information, program or department content, and any relevant documents or forms for accuracy. Your supervisor should approve any changes before sending them to the Marketing Department.

Website Accessibility

The college is committed to providing information on our website in an accessible format, and efforts are being made to ensure equal accessibility to people with disabilities. Individuals who have difficulty accessing any information presented on our website should contact the college’s Services for Students with Disabilities coordinator.

Social Media

Officially-recognized Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College social media accounts are defined as any social media account created by an OCtech employee that is used to represent the college in any capacity. The college officially maintains social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.

The following are requirements for establishing, monitoring and managing an officially-recognized OCtech social media account:

  • Departments and student organizations should not have individual social media pages. If a department, division or organization would like to start a group on the OCtech page, contact the Marketing Department.
  • Recognized OCtech social media accounts must be created, reviewed and approved through the Marketing Department. The Marketing Department will have administrative access and privileges for all OCtech social media accounts.
  • Do not post confidential or proprietary information about OCtech and its students, employees or alumni. When posting, follow all federal regulations including, but not limited to, FERPA and all OCtech privacy and confidentiality policies.
  • Copyrighted material is not allowed on OCtech social media accounts.
  • Social media content could encourage comments or discussion of opposing ideas. Consider responses carefully. If needed, ask a supervisor for input or contact the Marketing Department for guidance.
  • Posts and comments containing defamatory, discriminatory, illegal, inappropriate, libelous, obscene, offensive or threatening content, or content that violates intellectual property rights or privacy laws are subject to being hidden and/or removed.
  • Posts and comments deemed irrelevant or not directly related to the services provided by the college are subject to being hidden and/or removed.
  • At least two current OCtech employees are required to serve as administrators for OCtech social media accounts. Students cannot be named page administrators for OCtech social media accounts.

The Marketing Department reserves the right to deactivate OCtech social media accounts and will provide notice before an account is deactivated.

OCtech employees should follow the same behavioral standards online as they would in real life. Employees are ambassadors for the college and are responsible for all content they post to social media accounts, whether personally or professionally.

The following are guidelines for personal social media accounts:

  • Employees identifying themselves as an OCtech faculty or staff member on their personal social media profiles should state clearly that they are not acting in an official capacity, and any views expressed on their personal social media account are theirs alone.
  • Remember anything posted online is accessible and may be shared with a wider audience, including employers, colleagues and students.
  • Employees should be thoughtful who they “friend” or permit to view personal social media accounts.

Hashtags

Hashtags commonly used by the college on our social media channels include: #ConnectingPeopletoPossibilities #DreamPlanDo #WellChangeYourLife #StartCollegeHere #ILoveOCtech

When sharing original content on your personal social media accounts about the college and its programs, please tag the college and use these hashtags.

Letterhead

Official college letterhead is available in the OCtech Bookstore, and a digital version is available to download on SharePoint. OCtech letterhead should only be used for official college business, including letters of recommendation for students.

Presentations and Publications

The Marketing Department has created two presentation-ready PowerPoints. Choose the one most appropriate for your audience, download a copy and make adjustments as needed.

Also available are PowerPoint templates that can be downloaded and edited to create your own presentation from scratch, as well as program-specific PowerPoint pages that can be inserted into any presentation. All templates are available to download on SharePoint.

Need handouts for a school or group presentation? Browse available documents on SharePoint. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, contact the Marketing Department.

Editorial Style

To maintain consistency in written communications, OCtech’s Marketing Department uses AP Style (with minor exceptions) and Merriam-Webster for guidance. Please use the following guidelines when writing for and about the college.

OCtech
  • First reference: Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College (hyphenate Orangeburg-Calhoun)
  • Second reference: OCtech, the college
  • Abbreviation: OCtech (t is not capitalized)

References to the college or college are lowercase. Capitalize College only in highly formal communications to internal audiences.

OCtech Area Commission
  • First reference: Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College Area Commission
  • Second reference: OCtech Area Commission, the area commission

References to the area commission or area commission are lowercase. Capitalize Area Commission only in highly formal communications to internal audiences.

OCtech Foundation
  • First reference: Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College Foundation
  • Second reference: OCtech Foundation, the college foundation

References to the foundation or foundation are lowercase. Capitalize Foundation only in highly formal communications to internal audiences.

Occupational Titles
  • First reference: Individual’s full name (President Dr. Walt Tobin; Dr. Walt Tobin, president of OCtech)
  • Second reference: Individual’s last name only (Tobin)

Job titles are only capitalized if they come before a name – Program Coordinator John Doe (or John Doe, program coordinator). Do not capitalize instructor or professor before a name.

Academic Divisions and College Departments

Capitalize the names of college divisions when referring to a specific division or department. Do not capitalize if used in general terms.
Students must apply for financial aid. | The Financial Aid office is in Building S.

Campus Buildings

OCtech’s buildings are named using alphabetical letters. Building is capitalized when it precedes the letter name of the building, but do not capitalize building when it stands alone.
Building R  |  Building S is the college’s main building.

Several of our buildings also have proper names that either honor individuals who have made a tremendous impact on our college or denote the building’s primary use. These names are typically used in highly formal communications to internal audiences.

  • Building A: Williams Administration Building
  • Building B: Gressette Learning Resource Center
  • Building C: Wetenhall Faculty Administration Building
  • Building D: Wesner Classroom Building
  • Building H: Simulated Office Building
  • Building I: Fairey Industrial Technology Building
  • Building K: Health Sciences Building
  • Building R: Math and Science Center
  • Building S: Patrick Student Services Building
  • Building T: Anne S. Crook Transportation and Logistics Center
  • Building U: Pearl A. Tourville Nursing Center

Capitalization, Punctuation and Grammar

Academic degrees
  • Associate degree: No ’s. Capitalize when referring to a specific degree. Lowercase when referring to a general type of degree. Do not abbreviate as AA, AS, AAS.
    Associate of Arts | Associate of Science | Associate of Applied Science
    He earned an associate degree.
  • Associate of: Not Associate in.
  • Bachelor’s degree, master’s degree: Use an ’s except when referring to a specific degree. Capitalize a specific degree. Lowercase a general type of degree. Do not abbreviate as BA, BS, MA, MS, etc.
    I have a master’s degree.
    She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Acronyms
  • Only use well-known acronyms. Use full caps with no periods.
    ACT, FAFSA, SAT
    Automotive Service Excellence, then ASE
    Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act on the first reference, then FERPA
    National Council Licensure Examination on first reference, then NCLEX
Addresses
  • Abbreviate Ave., Blvd. and St. when paired with a numbered address. When not part of a numbered address, spell it out. Lowercase street when used alone or with more than one street name. Use figures for address numbers, but spell out and capitalize First through Ninth street names. Abbreviate compass directions when used in a numbered street address.
    501 Academy Ave. | Academy Avenue
    I walked down the street.
    Broughton and Amelia streets
    5 First St. | Second Street | 501 N. First St. |     North 10th Street
Advisor
  • Not adviser.
Ages
  • Use numerals. Hyphenate as in 8-year-old, but not 8 years old.
Ampersand (&)
  • Do not use to replace and. Use it only as part of a proper name.
Catalog
  • Not catalogue.
Commas
  • Avoid using the Oxford – or serial – comma before the conjunction in a list of three or more items unless omitting the comma would cause confusion.
Compound modifiers
  • Use a hyphen when two words together modify another word (first-year student). Do not hyphenate words that end in -ly (regionally ranked program). Exception: family-based program
County
  • Capitalize when used with the name of the county. Do not capitalize alone or when referring to multiple counties.
    Orangeburg County | Orangeburg and Calhoun counties
    The county closed early for inclement weather.
Course titles

  • Capitalize as proper nouns. Do not capitalize when speaking in general terms.
    College Algebra, Engine Repair, Introduction to Criminal Justice
    She took all of her anatomy courses at OCtech.

Coursework
  • Not course work.
Dates
  • Do not use st, nd, rd or th. Only abbreviate the following months when used with specific dates: Jan. Feb. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Do not abbreviate March, April, May, June or July. A comma is not needed with a month and year, but use a comma to offset the year when used with the month and day. Do not abbreviate days of the week.
    Feb. 11, March 15
    Friday, March 15, is my dad’s birthday.
    Feb. 11, 2017, was the coldest day of the year.
Divisions, departments and program names
  • Capitalize the official names of divisions and departments as proper nouns when referring to specific programs. When speaking about the field of study in general terms, do not capitalize. Do not capitalize program or office.
    He is enrolled in OCtech’s Mechatronics Technology program.
    She will have many career opportunities in nursing.
    Call the Business Affairs office for more information.
    We have many student services available on campus.
First annual
  • Use inaugural instead. An event is not annual until it has been held at least two successive years.
Full time, full-time/part time, part-time
  • Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier.
    He works full time at Phoenix. | She is a part-time student.
Fund and scholarship names
  • Capitalize as proper nouns.
Fundraising/fundraiser
  • One word.
Healthcare
  • One word.
Money
  • Not monies.
Names

  • Do not use courtesy titles such as Mr., Mrs. or Ms. Use first and last names on first reference. Use last names only on the second reference and beyond. Do not use a comma before Jr., Sr. or Roman numerals after names.
    John Doe likes to tell a good story. In May, Doe was named the best storyteller in Orangeburg.
    John Doe Jr. | John Doe III

Numbers
  • In general, spell out one through nine. Use figures for 10 and above. Most common exceptions: ages, addresses, dates, decimals, percentages, fractions, dimensions and distances.
octech.edu
  • Not OCtech.edu, OCTech.edu or other variations.
Orangeburg, S.C.

  • Used to denote where the college is located in press releases, brochures, letters and other forms of official documentation. If the communication piece is for a local audience, omit S.C.

Percent

  • 10 percent, not 10%. Exceptions: Headlines, marketing copy or graphic content.

Phone numbers

  • Do not use parentheses to separate the area code from the phone number. Use periods to separate numbers.
    803.535.1234

Resume

  • Not résumé.

Seasons

  • Lowercase fall, winter, spring and summer unless referring to a formal name.

Sentence spacing

  • Do not use a double space between sentences.

State names

  • Spell them out. If used with a city name, include the state’s standard abbreviation
    We went to North Carolina last weekend. | The conference was in Athens, Ga.

Time

  • Use numerals to tell time, and do not use extra zeros. Use figures, a space, lowercase letters, and periods for a.m. and p.m. Spell out numbers less than 10 standing alone or in modifiers. Use a.m. or p.m. only after the second figure. Use noon or midnight instead of 12 p.m. or 12 a.m.
    1 p.m. | 10:45 a.m. | 5 to 7 p.m. | noon to 3 p.m.
    five more minutes | eight-hour shift

Toward/backward/forward/upward/downward

  • No s.

TRIO

  • Not TRiO.

Web addresses

  • Do not use http, https or www in front of the address unless the page will not load without using such prefixes.

Well-being

  • Two words, hyphenated.

Work-study

  • Not workstudy or other variations.

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