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Amy Zeh High-Impact Practices Course Designation Student Showcase

Celebrating Academic Excellence in High-Impact Practices Designated Courses

The UCF Amy Zeh High-Impact Practices Course Designation Student Showcase honors the memory and dedication of Amy Zeh, who served as the Assistant Director of Service-Learning from 2006 to 2019. She championed student success and believed High-Impact Practices (HIPs) were essential to the undergraduate experience. The HIP Course Designation Student Showcase is held during the fall and spring semesters.

It is an opportunity for students to share individual or team HIP-designated course projects from Service-Learning, Research Intensive, Integrative-Learning Experience or Global Learning courses with the UCF community. Students can participate virtually, in person or in both formats.

Virtual Showcase 

Dates: Available from Nov. 14 

Location: UCF STARS 

In-Person Showcase 

Date: Thursday, Nov. 20 

Time: 10 a.m. – noon 

Location: Key West Ballroom, UCF Student Union 

Students

Spotlight your work from Summer and Fall 2025 HIP-designated courses at the Amy Zeh High-Impact Practices Course Designation Student Showcase. Whether you worked individually or in a group, this is your chance to highlight your project. The Fall 2025 showcase features projects from HIP-designated courses offered only during the Summer and Fall 2025 semesters. 

Participation Options 

Review the participation requirements and deadlines for each showcase. Submit a registration form no later than 11:59 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31. Students presenting in both the virtual and in-person showcases must follow the requirements and guidelines for each format.

Virtual Showcase 

Requirements:

  • Review the virtual showcase guidelines before preparing your materials. 

  • Create a short video with closed captioning and a digital poster to serve as your cover image. Presentations must meet UCF’s accessibility guidelines or they will not be accepted.   

  • Submit your entry using UCF STARS by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13. You will need a free STARS account to upload your presentation materials. For group presentations, a HIP representative will email its leader to confirm that the project was accepted and posted to STARS. 

Awards:

  • There are four categories: Service-Learning (SL), Research Intensive (RI), Integrative-Learning Experience (IE) and Global Learning (GL). 

  • Faculty judges will review presentation materials uploaded to STARS and select one winning presentation in each category.  

  • Judging concludes Nov. 20. Award winners will be notified via email and highlighted on STARS. 

In-Person Showcase 

Requirements:

  • Review the in-person showcase guidelines. 

  • Create and print a poster that is 36 inches tall and 48 inches wide. Posters must be printed by Monday, Nov. 17. 

Awards:

  • Presentations will not be formally judged. Event attendees, including students, will vote on the presentations; those with the most votes will receive a People’s Choice Award. Presenters may not vote for themselves. Presenters are encouraged to view fellow students’ presentations and cast a vote. To reduce congestion, no more than three students should stand by a group project.  

  • People’s Choice award winners will be announced via email and highlighted on STARS.  

Submit a registration form

Steps to participate in the HIP Course Designation Student Showcase 

STEP 1: Decide whether you will present virtually, in person or both. Submit the registration form for the format you select. If you are planning to participate virtually and in person, follow the guidelines for each.  

STEP 2: Review the judging criteria and prompts for your HIP-designated course and include them in your presentation:  

  • Global Learning (GL)  

  • Integrative-Learning Experience (IE) 

  • Service-Learning (SL) and   

  • Research Intensive (RI)   

STEP 3: Make sure your presentation highlights a project from a HIP-designated course and explains:  

  • What you did: A clear overview of your project  

  • How you did it: The steps, methods or process you used   

  • What you learned: The key takeaways or impact of your work  

You’ll prepare a presentation that includes a short video summarizing your work and a cover slide. Consider adding optional elements  to strengthen your submission.

Required content and format    

STEP 1: Create a cover slide. (required)  

STEP 2: Record your three-to-five-minute accessible presentation. (required)  

STEP 3: Consider creating a digital poster. (highly recommended)  

Important: Materials that do not meet accessibility guidelines in UCF Policy 2-006 will be rejected.  

STEP 4: Submit required and optional materials — such as a digital poster, written summary, transcript and links to digital tools such as StoryMaps — to STARS. Important: mp4 and YouTube files can be uploaded to STARS. Canva links are not compatible with STARS. 

You’ll create and present a printed conference-style poster that summarizes your work.  

STEP 1: Create a poster measuring 36 inches tall and 48 inches wide.  

STEP 2: Design your poster. Consider using PowerPoint, which is free to all UCF students.

STEP 3: Set the correct size. In PowerPoint, go to Design → Slide Size → Custom Slide Size and enter the poster dimensions (for example, 36 by 48 inches). Avoid stretching small images, which may look blurry when printed.  

STEP 4: Check for typos and errors. Make sure all text, images and charts are clear and fit within the slide or page boundaries.  

STEP 5: Print your poster. Send it to print well before the showcase. Students are responsible for printing costs. See options below.  

STEP 6: Think about what you are going to say to the students, faculty, staff and other showcase visitors. Create a summary (about three minutes long) highlighting the key points of your project.

STEP 7: Check-in and set up your presentation between 9-9:45 a.m.  

Poster Printing Options

  • Biology Department (for Biology students only)   

  • Burnett Honors College (for BHC students only)     

  • LEAD Scholars Academy (LEAD Scholars only)   

  • NanoScience Technology Center (limited capacity)

  • Psychology Department (for Psychology students only)   

  • Sociology Department (for Sociology students only)  

Note: information might change; check with the host department.

  • UCF Print Shop (approximate cost: $84 + tax) 

    • Select “Order” from navigation bar 

    • Select “UCF Staff” and log in or create an account 

    • Select “Special Orders” and complete the form 

    • Contact the Print Shop with questions at 407.823.2277 

  • Staples (approximate cost: $40 + tax)

  • FedEx (approximate cost: $65 + tax) 

If you have questions about printing your poster, please email the HIP team. 

Faculty

The HIP Course Designation Student Showcase offers students an opportunity to present their projects from HIP-designated courses.

Participation opportunities for faculty: 

  • Encourage student participation 

  • Consider making showcase participation a course assignment.

  • Serve as a judge for the virtual showcase. Student presentations will focus on Service-Learning (SL), Research Intensive (RI), Integrative-Learning Experience (IE) or Global Learning (GL) experiences.

  • On Nov. 14, judges will receive links to prerecorded presentations, optional digital posters and the judging rubric.  

  • Scores must be submitted by midnight on Nov. 20. Student winners will be highlighted on STARS. Note: The presentations of students who only participate in the in-person showcase will not be judged.   

  • Join us at the in-person showcase on Thursday, Nov. 20 from 10 a.m. – noon in the Key West Ballroom in the Student Union. Encourage your students to attend. 

Virtual Judging Criteria 

FAQ

The Amy Zeh High-Impact Practices Course Designation Student Showcase celebrates student learning through the coursework and projects completed as part of HIP-designated courses they have taken. Students can participate in person and/or virtually. Students’ submissions highlight what they have learned about—and through—community service, research experience, career readiness and/or global competencies.   

The HIP Course Designation Student Showcase gives students the chance to connect course content with real-world experiences and self-reflection. It’s an opportunity to sharpen professional presentation skills and explain what you’ve learned in your High-Impact Practice (HIP) course beyond the classroom.

Virtual projects will be recognized with awards from each category. In person presentations are eligible for a People’s Choice Award that are determined by event attendees.  

Showcase participants will be contacted about a week after the registration deadline. If you do not receive event information, please email HIP@ucf.edu.  

No. The Amy Zeh HIP Showcase is only for projects completed in HIP-designated courses during this semester. If you’re eligible to participate, you’ll receive an email invitation from hip@ucf.edu that specifies the HIP-designated course you’re enrolled in. Not sure if your course qualifies? Check with your instructor.

Students actively participating in a study abroad program are not eligible to participate in the showcase.

If you are enrolled in a HIP-designated class (Service-Learning, Research Intensive, Integrative-Learning Experience, or Global Learning), you can register to present a course project in the showcase. Students who complete a summer HIP-designated course can participate in the fall event. 

HIP Course Designation Student Showcase takes place virtually and in person. Presentation options are:

  • Virtual: Submit a short video presentation to STARS. This format is judged and a winner is selected in each HIP-designated course category.

  • In-person: Create a printed poster presentation. Event attendees select the People’s Choice Award.

  • Both: Follow the requirements for each formats.

No. Presentations will be reviewed to ensure they meet accessibility guidelines.

You will create a printed conference poster (36 inches tall and 48 inches wide) and present it in person at the in-person event. You will be eligible for a People’s Choice Award.   

You’ll prepare a presentation that includes a short video summarizing your work and a cover slide. It must meet accessibility guidelines and be uploaded to STARS.  Your presentation will be judged. A winner from each HIP-designated course category will be selected.

You have the option to present virtually and in person. Follow the instructions for each format.

No. Only undergraduate students enrolled in a HIP-designated course are eligible to participate in the showcase.

No. Only undergraduates can participate in the showcase.

Email HIP@ucf.edu and provide the missing details; when possible, we will add the information to your submitted application .

While there isn’t a set number of presenters, we encourage you to work with small groups. Only three students can present at a time due to space limitations in the ballroom.

All emails go to the primary presenter (the student who signed up the group). Check with them for details.

For the HIP Showcase, your project must have been tied to the work you completed in your HIP Course. If you have a project that is not related to your HIP course that you would like to present, be sure to check out the Student Scholar Symposium to see if you would be eligible to present.   

The Amy Zeh HIP Showcase presentation counts as a conference presentation! Be sure to add it to your résumé or CV.  

If you submitted a virtual presentation, you can link to your presentation to show what you did.  

If you created a poster for the in-person showcase, you might want to save it for a future conference (such as the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference).   

Award recipients will be notified via email. The primary presenter will be notified for group presentations.

Yes! As long as these projects are from separate HIP-designated courses, you are able to submit more than one project.  

If you graduated in the summer and completed a HIP-designated course, you can participate in the fall event.  

Yes. If you have received permission from all of the members of the group, you are able to register to present for your group.

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