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General Policies and Procedures

What makes a designated High-Impact Practices (HIP) course?

HIP Designated Courses are those that have been enhanced by deliberate practices to make them HIP experiences for students. These courses have been developed by the instructors to match the criteria requirement for the designation they seek (Service-Learning, Integrative-Learning Experience, Research-Intensive, or Global Learning). While requirements vary within the four course designations, all require that course objectives clearly align with the respective designation, with meaningful assignments and clear assessments to achieve those objectives. 

HIP Course Designation Administrative Contacts:

The HIP unit is comprised of administrators from UCF offices across campus. Questions about course designations and submissions may be sent to the following offices: 

Not sure which department to contact? Email HIP@ucf.edu with general questions or support needs.

General submission requirements:

  1. Review the information and rubric criteria for the HIP Course Designation you seek.

  2. Prepare your course syllabus to ensure it meets all required rubric criteria.

  3. Fill out the HIP Course Designation Submission Form. Within this form, you will provide general course information, and will copy and paste text from your syllabus to demonstrate that your course meets the rubric criteria. You will also upload your syllabus. Supplemental materials, such as more detailed project descriptions or assessment rubrics, may be included as needed.

  4. Discuss with your department chair your plans to submit prior to submitting your course for a designation.

  5. Once you have completed the form, you will receive an email confirmation. All correspondence throughout the review process will be via email.

Timeline and review procedure:

  1. Submission: Submissions are accepted until the fourth Friday of Fall and Spring semesters.

  2. Review 1: Once the submission window closes, the HIP Course Designation Faculty Review Committee will review all submissions. The committee will send back the following recommendations:

    • For courses requiring No Changes or Minor Revisions:

      • If your submission requires no changes, or minor changes, your course will be approved for the HIP Course Designation.

      • A member of the HIP Course Designation Steering Committee will email you any minor changes to be made, but the submission will continue being routed for Chair and Dean approval.

    • For courses requiring Major Revisions:

      • Should the submission require major revisions, a member of the HIP Course Designation Steering Committee will email you with committee feedback. Revisions completed and approved during the same submission cycle will not delay the designation.

      • To complete your revisions, please prepare a new version of your syllabus, implementing the committee feedback. Highlight and/or comment to annotate the changes.

      • Then, please duplicate your original submission by going to your Kuali submissions. Do not make changes to your submission. Instead, on the first question, please select that this is a resubmission. You will then be taken to a place on the form where you may describe the changes you made and upload your new syllabus.

  3. Review 2: The HIP Review Committee will review resubmissions. Submissions that are denied will receive feedback shared by a member of the Steering Committee.  

  4. Designation: Approved courses will then be routed to Chairs and Deans for final approval; pending that approval, the course will receive the designation beginning the following semester.

Requesting Changes to Designations

Changes to Approved Courses: Approved courses with significant syllabus and/or departmental curriculum changes should route any updated syllabi to the appropriate administrative office (see Contacts, above). The HIP Course Steering Committee will determine if the HIP Course Designation Faculty Review Committee needs to re-evaluate the course. 

Changes to HIP Designation: If your course currently has an HIP designation, but you feel your course would be better suited for a different designation, please select that you would like to change your designation on the submission form for the question “Does this course already have another HIP Designation?”

Instructor Level to Course Level: If you have a current instructor level designation and are seeking a course level designation, you must repeat the submission process, noting the change to course level designation in the comment section of the submission form. See below for more information about instructor level and course level designations.

Course Designation Removal: If a course no longer qualifies under its HIP designation or the instructor is not able to teach the designation for one or more semesters, instructors or a department may notify HIP@ucf.edu to remove the designation and must remove the HIP course designation statement from their syllabus. This may be done on a temporary (i.e. sabbatical or parental leave) or permanent basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can group projects make up the HIP assignments for a course?

Yes, though submission materials must clearly articulate how all group members will accomplish all of the HIP rubric criteria for that designation. Students must also be graded individually for their work, which must be specified in the syllabus.

Is there a cap on class size for HIP designation?

There is no cap. For instructors submitting materials for larger courses, submitted materials should articulate how there is sufficient support (GTAs, for one example) for instructors to facilitate HIP intensive course content and to provide ample student feedback throughout the semester.

Can a course have more than one designation?

Not usually, because we encourage faculty to strengthen their curriculum through one focused HIP. However, there may be rare examples when this is appropriate. Please contact HIP@ucf.edu to discuss the unique nature of your course.

Can mixed mode or fully online classes receive HIP course designations?

Yes! Both mixed mode (M) and online (W) classes have been designated.

Are HIP course designations available for both undergraduate and graduate courses?

The Research-Intensive course designation is only applicable to undergraduate courses. Undergraduate and graduate courses are eligible for all other course designations.

Syllabus Statements

All HIP course syllabi must contain the syllabus statement that corresponds with their designation. These syllabus statements are only to be used by faculty who have had their courses designated through the HIP course designation process.

Service-Learning

The following statement was created as a tool for faculty members to use when writing a syllabus for a service-learning course.  Inserting it, however, does not automatically create a service-learning syllabus. It should be modified to meet individual course content and objectives (bracketed sections in [bold] are areas that are typically adjusted to apply to individual course needs).

Service-Learning Statement:

This section of [ABC 1234] is a UCF sanctioned service-learning class.  Students will spend a minimum of fifteen hours over the course of the semester on a service-learning activity. This activity will address a need in our community, support our course objectives, involve a connection between the campus and the world around it, challenge students to be civically engaged, and involve structured student reflection.  We’ll spend time reflecting on our service-learning experience through [class conversations, WebCT discussions, and field journal entries].  While there is a 15 hour minimum for service to pass the course, your service-learning efforts will be the core of much of the learning in the course. Therefore your “grade” for service-learning will come from the tangible class-related projects that come out of it rather than simply from completion of the hour minimum.

Our service-learning work in this [technical writing] course will involve [developing technical documents] for .  This will allow students to work with a real-world audience and will ensure that the significant time you put into your class project leads to meaningful results.  I’ll offer some suggestions for possible organizations groups of students may choose to work with and I’ll invite you to suggest other options.  I must approve all projects and each project will begin with a signed agreement among the students, the agency contact person, and me.  If any student has a valid objection to a proposed service-learning project or placement, he or she must let me know during the first week of class or before the drop/add deadline so we can discuss options.

Research-Intensive

[ABC 1234] is designated as a Research-Intensive (RI) course. This designation will be noted on your transcripts. Your active engagement in the research and/or creative scholarship process will be the core of your learning experience in this course. A significant portion of your grade for [ABC 1234] will be derived from both your active participation in the research process and the tangible course-related project(s) that comes out of said project. If you have any questions about this designation, please ask your course instructor.

Integrative-Learning Experience

[ABC 1234] is designated as an Integrative-Learning Experience (IE) course. This designation will be noted on your transcripts. Integrative-Learning Experience (IE) courses offer students a chance to explore integrative pathways that connect the core knowledge and skills of their major to real-world professional and civic contexts. Students work closely with their professors and peers to develop, reflect on, and articulate their goals. Although many courses include aspects of integrative-learning, to be designated an IE course integrative-learning content must be central rather than peripheral to the syllabus. For questions concerning Integrative Learning, please contact High-Impact Practices at HIP@ucf.edu.

Global Learning

Global Learning Course Description: This description and the bulleted components of a GL course should be placed after the general course description in the syllabus.

This course will be a Global Learning-designated course.  The University of Central Florida defines Global Learning (GL) courses as those that offer students a chance to explore symbiotic, international systems and their impacts on humanity from multiple points of view.  AAC&U defines global learning as “a critical analysis of and an engagement with complex, interdependent global systems and legacies (such as natural, physical, social, cultural, economic, and political) and their implications for people’s lives and the earth’s sustainability.  Through global learning, students should 1) become informed, open-minded, and responsible people who are attentive to diversity across the spectrum of differences, 2) seek to understand how their actions affect both local and global communities, and 3) address the world’s most pressing and enduring issues collaboratively and equitably.” GL courses at UCF will prepare students to ethically and collaboratively contribute to discussions about and finding solutions to issues faced by international organizations and the people impacted by their activities.

There are several academic activities that are central components of a GL course:

  • Intercultural competencies—whereby students learn to think and act appropriately, and to communicate and work with people from different cultural backgrounds.
  • High-Impact Practices (HIPs)—in which students participate in educational experiences that demand considerable time and effort, facilitate learning outside of the classroom, and require meaningful interactions with faculty and other students.
  • Metacognition—in which students develop self-awareness and the ability to reflect and learn from their experiences.

Global Learning Course Objectives: This description and the six (6) bulleted objectives of a GL course should be placed after the general course objectives in the syllabus.

This course will be a Global Learning-designated course.  The University of Central Florida defines Global Learning (GL) courses as those that offer students a chance to explore symbiotic, international systems and their impacts on humanity from multiple points of view.  As such, the work you complete will address all of the four objectives below:

  • Global Learning Criterion 2.1: Demonstrate understanding of a global aspect of a natural or manmade system, issue, practice or process and its influence on human life. 
  • Global Learning Criterion 2.2: Explain perspectives different from their own of a global natural or manmade system, issue, practice, or process. 
  • Global Learning Criterion 2.3: Address a cross-boundary problem or issue: Apply core course concepts to a natural or manmade global system 
  • Global Learning Criterion 2.4: Encounter interactions that include diverse experiences or perspectives outside the classroom 

Additionally, students will complete work that addresses one or both of these objectives during the term:

  • Global Learning Criterion 3.1: Communicate lessons learned, new knowledge or perspectives to a wider audience 
  • Global Learning Criterion 3.2: Reflect on growth/change in personal appreciation for global systems and application to career and life goals.”

HIP Course Designation Faculty Review Committee:

  1. HIP Course Designation Faculty Review Committee members are UCF faculty nominated by the HIP administrative offices and selected by the Assistant Vice Provost of Career Planning and Academic Engagement. Committee members are chosen for their expertise in HIPs, and usually teach one or more designated HIP courses.

  2. Committee members serve a minimum of one academic year, attending three meetings per Fall and Spring semester.

  3. This committee serves as the reviewers and approves courses for all HIP course designations. Committee members review, provide feedback, and make final recommendations for HIP course designation submissions.

  4. In addition to the HIP Course Designation Faculty Review Committee, an HIP Course Designation Steering Committee, consisting of members of the HIP administrative units, sits on the committee but does not review or provide final recommendations. The HIP Course Designation Steering Committee serves as the points of contact for course designations; addresses any committee questions or concerns; oversees the review process; and communicates committee feedback to instructors.