Poster Competition Guidelines

Each institution will be allowed a maximum of six posters for the poster competition.

After the submission deadline, the conference poster committee will assess the level of participation in the competition and determine if additional posters will be accepted based on space available. If your institution has more than 6 students interested in presenting posters, please keep a waiting list and collect abstracts from these additional students. If additional abstracts are accepted, the turnaround for submission will be very short and staff will need to be ready to submit quickly.

All abstracts will be included in the Conference Program Booklet. Abstracts and Poster Presentation Registration Forms must be submitted via online by February 8, 2012. Forms will not be accepted after the deadline. Abstracts will only be submitted electronically using the submission process.

The following guidelines have been developed to assist you in the planning and development of your student presentations for both the poster competition and exhibition.Failure to adhere to the guidelines will be reflected in the scoring of the poster in the competition. PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES CAREFULLY.

I. ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM:

• This form will be used to maintain contact with poster presentation participants and CSTEP staff.
  
  
• Confirmation emails will be sent to the CSTEP program staff person listed as the contact person on the registration form. It is the responsibility of the CSTEP staff to pass information along to their student presenters.
  
  
• Staff should complete one registration form per poster. Forms should be completed electronically and submitted online. Please copy-paste the following link into your browser to complete the registration form:
  
  http://bit.ly/CSTEPPosterPresentationRegistration2012
  
  
• For questions, please email Sean Partridge, Poster Competition/Exhibition Committee Chair (partrisc@potsdam.edu)

II. POSTER REQUIREMENTS:

• Posters must be no larger than 36 x 48 inches and are to be displayed on a tri-fold display board.
  
  
• Students are allowed to present (or co-present) one poster and are responsible for additional equipment (e.g. extension cords, laptops, handouts, props, etc.)
  
  
• Each participant must provide their own tri-fold poster backing. No poster backing will be provided on site!
  
  
• Posters must be accompanied by a presenter at the conference. Posters without a presenter in attendance will not be presented or judged and will be disqualified from competition.

III. ABSTRACT GUIDELINES:

• The abstract must be submitted in the appropriate section of the online submission form. A sample abstract is included below. CSTEP staff are expected to assist students to ensure that abstracts are of high quality and meet the requirements listed.
  
  
• Copy-paste your abstract from a Word document. Font size must be 12-point and font must be Times New Roman. Abstract may not to exceed 250 words.
  
  
• Please copy-paste your abstract in the following format:
  • Left-margin justified, single spaced, with no indentations at the beginning of each paragraph. Add an extra space between paragraphs, if necessary.
    
• Each abstract must include the following information (in this order)
  
  1. title of presentation
     
     
  2. presenter’s name and class year (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior)
     
     
  3. faculty mentor name, department, and institution
     
     
  4. student presenter’s institution name
     
     
  5. poster category (see Section IV below)

IV. CATEGORY OF PRESENTATION/ABSTRACT:
Students must choose one of the following categories for presentation.

• Human Services (Social Work, Education, Counseling, etc.)
  
  
• Natural Sciences (Biology, Environmental Science, etc.)
  
  
• Physical Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Geology, etc.)
  
  
• Social Sciences (History, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, etc.)
  
  
• Technology (Computer Science & Engineering, etc.)
  
  *Categories may be combined or sub-divided based on the number of entries received.

V. JUDGING (FOR POSTER COMPETITORS ONLY):
A team of judges will be assigned for each category. Criteria for judging are included below.

• Poster Size (tri-fold display board only). Students may bring supplemental materials (i.e. models, laptops, etc.).
  
  
• Visual Appearance (Neatness, Organization, etc.)
  
  
• Oral Presentation (5 min. overview of project, 5 min. question & answer session)
  
  
• Statement of Purpose or Hypothesis
  
  
• Documentation or Methodology (What methods did you use to answer your hypothesis?)
  
  
• Findings/Results (Significance or Impact)
  
  
• Written Presentation and Clarity of Abstract
  
  
• Creativity and/or Initiative
  

Submission Deadline: February 8, 2012

Poster Submission Instructions

Once you have selected the students who will represent your program in the poster completion, please follow these steps to ensure that they are successfully entered into the competition and that their information and abstracts are properly presented in the conference booklet.

1. Provide your student(s) with a poster registration form (included in this packet). Have the student(s) complete one form per poster.
   
   
2. Give each student presenter a copy of the poster rubric upon which their abstract, poster and presentation are to be judged. Staff are encouraged to review the rubric and guidelines with students.
   
   
3. Have the students submit the registration form to a designated CSTEP staff member prior to the poster submission deadline (February 08, 2012).
   
   
4. The designated CSTEP staff member will then log on to the poster competition website (http://bit.ly/CSTEPPosterPresentationRegistration2012) to submit each poster. Submissions must be made prior to 4pm on the deadline date. Students should NOT be registering their posters online.
   
   
5. Programs may submit up to 6 posters. Do not submit any presenters who will not be attending the conference. Each poster MUST be accompanied by at least one student presenter.
   
   
6. Please ensure that the information is entered accurately (spelling, capitalization, punctuation, etc). This is the information that will be used to compile the conference booklet. Errors in submission will likely become errors in the publication.
   
   
7. Please make sure that the staff contact information submitted is accurate, especially the email address. This is the means by which the committee will confirm registration and by which all subsequent communication regarding the poster competition will be sent. It is the CSTEP staff person’s responsibility to pass information along to students in a timely manner.
   
   
8. When submitting the poster abstract, please ensure that the abstract appears in the format provided in the in the registration guidelines. Please note that any typos or other errors in this submission are likely to be printed in the conference booklet.
   
   
9. Please contact Sean Partridge (partrisc@potsdam.edu) if you need to make any changes to your registrations after submission.