Academic Excellence Symposium for Faculty and Staff

Morning and Afternoon – SU 218D

Presented by Kimberly R. Schneider, Ph.D.

High-Impact Practices (HIPs) are nationally recognized strategies that enhance student learning, engagement, and success for all students, with particularly strong benefits for non-traditional students. This session will trace the history of HIPs, examine research on their impact, and share UCF’s current data on participation and outcomes. We will highlight the critical role faculty play in steering HIPs and provide practical ways to get involved—from integrating HIPs into the classroom to mentoring undergraduate research. We will also share how faculty can strategically leverage HIPs to advance their teaching excellence, research opportunities, and professional development. Students will share insights on how HIPs have transformed their learning and career-readiness.

*Includes a facilitated student panel!

Morning – SU 221

Presented by Daniel Molares and Azon Bonifacio

Digital accessibility makes your content usable and inclusive for everyone. Your Content Matters: Make it Accessible and Reach Everyone! is a hands‑on workshop that introduces key accessibility practices like alt text, headings, color contrast, and meaningful links. This session will include a demonstration of how to use tools such as UDOIT and the Canvas Accessibility Checker. Participants will also have open‑lab time to apply what they’ve learned directly to their own course materials with support from our team.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Identify common digital accessibility barriers and apply best practice techniques to correct them.
• Create accessible content using contextual alt text, appropriate headings, sufficient color contrast, descriptive links, and other foundational principles.
• Use UDOIT and the Canvas Accessibility Checker to evaluate and remediate accessibility issues within Webcourse pages.
• Locate and leverage UCF accessibility resources including tools, training, and support services.

Morning and Afternoon – SU 218A

Presented by UCF PD – Threat Management Team (TMT) and Community Partnerships Unit (CPU)

Left of Bang!

The first part of this combined presentation explores why the TMT unit was formed, its importance to both the team and the community, and their approach to threat assessment and threat management. It also describes the roles of each team member and shares a number of success stories.

Becoming your own Knight

The second part presents on how to be safe no matter where you are. Building on the principles of Avoid, Deny and Defend, to make informative decisions about personal safety.

Morning and Afternoon – SU PEG ABC

Presented by Civil Discourse and Engagement

Rooms of Reality is an interactive, immersive experience that places participants inside environments where expectations feel misaligned, the rules are unclear, and moving forward requires constant adjustment. Rather than observing social challenges from a distance, participants experience them physically, emotionally, and collectively. Through a series of intentionally disorienting scenarios followed by guided reflection, the experience explores what it’s like to navigate spaces that aren’t designed with everyone in mind. Participants are invited to notice moments of friction, uncertainty, and adaptation, and to reflect on how those moments shape understanding, decision-making, and connection. Rooms of Reality encourages empathy, challenges assumptions, and invites participants to consider how recognizing and responding to discomfort can lead to more humane, inclusive ways of engaging with one another and the systems we inhabit.

Afternoon – SU 218B

Presented by Kevin Yee, Ph.D.

AI is transforming the educational landscape, but its greatest impact may be in the day-to-day work that supports students behind the scenes. This workshop shows UCF faculty and staff how to use Generative AI to improve efficiency, reduce workload, and redirect time toward personalized support and meaningful student interactions.

We will explore what GenAI is, how it works, where it excels, and where caution is warranted. You’ll learn how to use UCF’s secure AI tools effectively and how to craft prompts that produce reliable, useful output that will help create more engaging learning experiences and improve student outcomes.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Explain how large language model AI works, including its strengths and limitations in educational contexts.
• Log in to and use UCF’s safe, approved AI platform (Microsoft Copilot).
• Apply foundational prompt engineering strategies to enhance productivity and teaching workflows.
• Identify when AI is appropriate for instructional and administrative tasks—and when it isn’t.
• Describe what “co creating with AI” means and differentiate tasks best suited to human expertise.
• Use AI to streamline everyday responsibilities, freeing time for quality instruction and interactions.

Afternoon – SU 221

Presented by Dr. Michelle Dusseau

This session highlights the importance of emotional intelligence when serving or teaching today’s students, offering practical strategies to build self-awareness, empathy, and effective communication. Participants will explore applied practices that support student engagement, resilience, and success in increasingly complex learning environments.