UCCS will showcase student achievements with Merit Pages, a social media and hometown news program that allows students to share academic and extracurricular successes with family and friends.
Participating students will receive online badges for achievements such as making the dean’s list, studying abroad, earning scholarships, graduating from UCCS and many more.
These badges allow students to highlight achievements and activities while creating an online professional profile that they can use for jobs, internships, and references after graduation. Students can also share badges with their family and friends on social media or through email.
“Merit allows us to showcase our students and their accomplishments, both in and out of the classroom,” Philip Denman, social media and communication specialist, University Advancement, said. “This is a great opportunity for both our students and for UCCS.”
When a student is awarded a badge, he or she will receive an email with a link to a personal Merit page, which includes a badge and a description of the achievement. From there, students can customize their profile with a picture, personal description, and personal badges to represent work experience, internships or club memberships.
Students who do not wish to participate in Merit Pages can do so by clicking on an “opt-out” link on the bottom of the email they receive.
The purpose of the program is to highlight student achievement and to increase awareness of the university in a medium popular with students. When possible, a student’s achievements are also sent to his or her hometown newspaper, a traditional public relations and marketing tactic.
“Hometown news programs have been around for decades and are still quite popular,” Tom Hutton, executive director, University Advancement, said. “But with the demise of many small town newspapers and the rise of social media as a communication tool, I believe this program is an effective way to celebrate student achievement and to spread the word about UCCS.”
For more information about Merit Pages, please visit www.uccs.edu/socialmedia/merit-pages.
To view the UCCS Merit page, please visit uccs.meritpages.com.
Questions about the Merit program, should be directed to [email protected].
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