Yale University will discontinue the terms "freshman" and "upperclassman" in its official documents, joining a widespread trend among institutions.
Yale publications and communications will instead refer to "first-year" and "upper-level" students, according to university representatives, with the intent to phase out the older terminology by the 2018-19 academic year.
University representatives did not respond to follow up questions about the impetus for the change.
"Because the term ‘freshman’ is so ingrained in our everyday language, the college expects its use to continue," spokesman Tom Conroy wrote in an email.
Generally, the purpose of exchanging "freshman" and "upperclassman" has roots in the idea of being more inclusive, said Jennifer Keup, director of the National Resource Center for the First Year-Experience and Students in Transition.
She said that those two words in particular are gendered, but the shift also is a piece of a larger movement to reflect the diversity of college campuses.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/09/18/yale-strikes-freshman-upperclassman-official-publications