University completes full-scale rollout of Merit Pages to allow students to share successes with media, employers, family and more

Public Affairs, Roger Williams University

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DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger1-29-2016New Social Media Tool Celebrates, PublicizesStudent AchievementsPublic Affairs, Roger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationPublic Affairs, Roger Williams University, "New Social Media Tool Celebrates, Publicizes Student Achievements" (2016). FeaturedNews Story. 619.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/619 News ArchiveNew Social Media Tool Celebrates, PublicizesStudent AchievementsUniversity completes full-scale rollout of Merit Pages to allow students to sharesuccesses with media, employers, family and moreJanuary 29, 2016 Public A airs Sta Bristol, R.I. – Made the Dean’s List? Went abroad? Volunteered? There’s a Merit badge for that.Roger Williams University has expanded its partnership with Merit Pages, a new, online platform thatallows the University to recognize students through virtual achievement badges awarded for collegiateexperiences ranging from community projects to academic achievements to conference presentationsand more.“The Merit Pages platform is essentially a 21st century version of the hometown newspaper outreachthat colleges have used for decades,” says Brian E. Clark, the University’s director of public a airs.“Whether for Dean’s List, graduation or a speci c academic achievement that we elect to publicize, thesystem still targets hometown papers but also gets the news out via social media and to a network ofkey stakeholders.”Hundreds of colleges in the U.S. use Merit to recognize and promote student achievements bycreating personalized Merit pages for each student. These Merit pages for RWU students areautomatically updated when the University’s Public A airs team elects to publicize studentaccomplishments. The team creates Meritachievements for all Dean's List appointments, allGraduation announcements and select other studentaccomplishments, particularly when they apply to largegroups of students.While the University does not publicize every individualachievement through Merit, students can add their ownpersonal achievements and build out a more completepro le. By claiming his or her own page, a student canalso populate the page and self-assign activity badgesfor club competitions, volunteer work, recreational andathletic events as well as internships and workexperiences.Updates to Merit pages are then shared with a network of stakeholders including the student’s highschool and government o cials near the student’s hometown. Students are encouraged to share theiraccomplishments with family and friends through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.Additionally, news of an accomplishment will be distributed to the student’s hometown newspapers.Roger Williams University junior Danielle Combs believes her Merit page can help serve the same roleas a LinkedIn page to showcase her campus activities and achievements.“When I  rst learned about my Merit page, I decided that I could use the page as a tool and help  ll inthe pro le with my other activities and information in addition to the individual achievements that I wasawarded by the University,” says Combs. “In the future, I do think I can use the page as somethingsimilar to a LinkedIn page that shows my achievements, involvement and experiences throughout mytime at RWU and make myself more marketable in my future endeavors.”Nearly every employer today conducts an online search of job candidates before making a hiringdecision. Merit Pages was created to o er students a new kind of online pro le that summarizes theircollege successes and helps demonstrate the valuable skills and experiences they’ve gained wheninterviewing for jobs and internships or applying for graduate school.Students can use Merit pages as a tool to complement their co-curricular transcript. A co-curriculartranscript is a student-initiated, comprehensive record of participation and achievements outside of theclassroom – similar in format to an academic transcript – that can be accessed and printed through thestudent’s Org Sync account. Questions about Org Sync can be sent to Student Programs andLeadership O ce at (401)254-3088 or by emailing studentprograms@rwu.edu.Students can visit RWU's Merit page to see accomplishments from their peers and learn more aboutthe program. Merit Pages also o ers a help desk with a number of resources for students including avideo tutorial on how to customize a Merit page. 

New Social Media Tool Celebrates, Publicizes Student Achievements

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New Social Media Tool Celebrates, Publicizes Student Achievements

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