Writing “the class of 2014” in a résumé?

Is “class of 2014” correct?

Is “class of ’14” correct?

Assuming the reader is aware of the context, is simply using “’14” correct?

Does your college/university have a writing style guide? If you look at the different style guides of different universities, you'll find that each style guide has its own prescribed way of handling class years.

From Middlebury

Classes from previous centuries that duplicate numerals of classes in the present century should be written in full.

John Smith, Class of 1906

John Smith II ’60 (referring to 1960)

John Smith III ’06 (referring to 2006)

From Knox

Use an “s” without an apostrophe after the year to indicate spans of decades or centuries. Use an apostrophe before the year for class years or abbreviations to indicate the “20” or “19” is omitted. See Class Year.

Right: The College was formed in the 1830s.

Right: Shannon will graduate with the Class of ’03.

From University of Texas at Austin

Use an “s” without an apostrophe after the year to indicate spans of decades or centuries. Use an apostrophe before the year for class years or abbreviations to indicate the first two numbers of the year are omitted.

Right: The university was formed in the 1880s.

Right: She belonged to the Class of 1924.

Right: Shannon will graduate with the Class of ’03.

Wrong: The ‘60s were famous for hippies, flower power and the peace movement.

Right: Marcia Gay Harden, B.A. ’80, spoke to the College of Fine Arts graduating class of 2001.

The expression class of— is rarely used in resumes. One either explicitly states the graduation date, e.g. [Expected] Date of Graduation: June 2014, or indicates their years of attendance to date, e.g. 2010 – present/date: American College, USA.

If you must use class of—, however, class of 2014 is the way to go. Class of '14 does not sound formal enough. For years below 2000, especially from the 50s up, it sounds better to drop the 19. From 2000 and up, though, it's nicer to retain the 20.

Class of 2014 seems more formal to me than Class of ’14. That might make it the better option on a résumé.