Lehigh offers students new tool for tracking success
Activities and accomplishments such as community service are among the distinctions that could be listed on a student's Merit page.
The university has adopted Merit Pages to celebrate student accomplishments in and out of the classroom.
The new tool, which can found at http://lehigh.meritpages.com/ works by gaining positive attention for students by cataloguing their accomplishments and activities in one online location that is broadly accessible to parents, recruiters, other schools, future employers and media outlets, according to the site merit.com
“Merit,” the site reads, “unlocks the power of those accomplishments to drive attention and awareness” to both the individual and the institution.
Common areas of achievement include dean’s lists, internships, academic awards, inductions into honor societies, athletic accomplishments, community service, leadership achievements, scholarships, fellowships, involvement in Greek life, musical or theatrical performances, or visual arts distinctions.
Specific Lehigh accomplishments could also include participation in programs such as LeaderShape, the Summer Scholars Institute, the Mountaintop Project, Prelusion leadership, ROTC, and others.
Each accomplishment is recognized in the form of an online badge that is automatically added to a student’s personalized page each time Lehigh grants an achievement.
Personalized notifications are then sent through email as well as news outlets in the student’s hometown and can easily be shared via social media
Ultimately, says Associate Dean of Students and Director of Strategic Initiatives Allison Gulati, Merit pages help to “recognize students for their extraordinary efforts to grow and develop as academic scholars and to become active citizen-leaders within the Lehigh community and beyond.
“Student recognition through Merit pages is based on the quality of the experience and the student’s effort to go above and beyond to promote their own learning and to make our community a better place,” she says.
Adds Dean of Students Sharon Basso: “Merit provides a great opportunity to spotlight the accomplishments of all students, even those who may not typically be in the spotlight, or be singled out for major awards or honors. There are many Lehigh students who do incredible things while they are here, and Merit provides a way to showcase their contributions and accomplishments.”
Lehigh joins more than 500 colleges and universities using the program nationwide, according to Lindsay Lebresco, director of digital and brand marketing, who has been partnering with Student Affairs to implement the system at Lehigh. Already, nearly 5,000 Lehigh students have profiles in the Merit system, including all undergrads, international and transfer students, Lebresco says.
Since Merit Pages were activated at the start of the Fall 2014 semester, nearly 1,500 press releases about student achievement have been sent to roughly 1,600 newspapers.
As a result of consultations with Gulati and Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Leadership Development and Civic Engagement Christine Gravelle, Lehigh’s Merit Pages will also closely align with the bLUeprint program and the five foundations of student success: creative curiosity, identity development, inclusive leadership, collaborative connections, and professional growth and success.
“It’s really exciting to see the Lehigh student life curriculum, bLUeprint, come to life through Merit,” Gravelle says. “bLUeprint provides opportunities to reflect and develop in order to create your own Lehigh experience and affect change. Like a blank canvas, you paint it with your own goals, vision, and interests through discovering, exploring, connecting, and applying your experiences in an authentic and reflective way. It is authoring your own experience, and achieving the vision you have imagined. It is a truly exciting journey, and a student’s Merit page is a way to visually showcase a few of these goals, visions and interests.”
For arts and engineering major Katherine Fletcher, Merit offers an opportunity to list all her Lehigh accomplishments and interests, which include a recent Student Life award, her design editorship of the Epitome, her role as president of the club volleyball team, her vice presidency of Colleges Against Cancer, her leadership position with Alpha Gamma Delta, internships, and her work with Community Service Office and the Residence Life Office as a first-year Gryphon.
Fletcher says that Merit allows her to “lay out all your positions, jobs, and awards in a fun way.”
If maintained, she says, “it’s a great way to show other students, professors, or employers the difference you made on Lehigh's campus. And beyond Lehigh, it will allow employers to get an honest snapshot of all your achievements in college without looking at a typical resume.”
Her advice for fellow students: “Create a Merit page, get involved, and document everything on your page. In the end, it can only help you. At the end of senior year, you will be happy to look back at everything you accomplished at Lehigh.”
The new tool, which can found at http://lehigh.meritpages.com/ works by gaining positive attention for students by cataloguing their accomplishments and activities in one online location that is broadly accessible to parents, recruiters, other schools, future employers and media outlets, according to the site merit.com
“Merit,” the site reads, “unlocks the power of those accomplishments to drive attention and awareness” to both the individual and the institution.
Common areas of achievement include dean’s lists, internships, academic awards, inductions into honor societies, athletic accomplishments, community service, leadership achievements, scholarships, fellowships, involvement in Greek life, musical or theatrical performances, or visual arts distinctions.
Specific Lehigh accomplishments could also include participation in programs such as LeaderShape, the Summer Scholars Institute, the Mountaintop Project, Prelusion leadership, ROTC, and others.
Each accomplishment is recognized in the form of an online badge that is automatically added to a student’s personalized page each time Lehigh grants an achievement.
Personalized notifications are then sent through email as well as news outlets in the student’s hometown and can easily be shared via social media
Ultimately, says Associate Dean of Students and Director of Strategic Initiatives Allison Gulati, Merit pages help to “recognize students for their extraordinary efforts to grow and develop as academic scholars and to become active citizen-leaders within the Lehigh community and beyond.
“Student recognition through Merit pages is based on the quality of the experience and the student’s effort to go above and beyond to promote their own learning and to make our community a better place,” she says.
Adds Dean of Students Sharon Basso: “Merit provides a great opportunity to spotlight the accomplishments of all students, even those who may not typically be in the spotlight, or be singled out for major awards or honors. There are many Lehigh students who do incredible things while they are here, and Merit provides a way to showcase their contributions and accomplishments.”
Lehigh joins more than 500 colleges and universities using the program nationwide, according to Lindsay Lebresco, director of digital and brand marketing, who has been partnering with Student Affairs to implement the system at Lehigh. Already, nearly 5,000 Lehigh students have profiles in the Merit system, including all undergrads, international and transfer students, Lebresco says.
Since Merit Pages were activated at the start of the Fall 2014 semester, nearly 1,500 press releases about student achievement have been sent to roughly 1,600 newspapers.
As a result of consultations with Gulati and Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Leadership Development and Civic Engagement Christine Gravelle, Lehigh’s Merit Pages will also closely align with the bLUeprint program and the five foundations of student success: creative curiosity, identity development, inclusive leadership, collaborative connections, and professional growth and success.
“It’s really exciting to see the Lehigh student life curriculum, bLUeprint, come to life through Merit,” Gravelle says. “bLUeprint provides opportunities to reflect and develop in order to create your own Lehigh experience and affect change. Like a blank canvas, you paint it with your own goals, vision, and interests through discovering, exploring, connecting, and applying your experiences in an authentic and reflective way. It is authoring your own experience, and achieving the vision you have imagined. It is a truly exciting journey, and a student’s Merit page is a way to visually showcase a few of these goals, visions and interests.”
For arts and engineering major Katherine Fletcher, Merit offers an opportunity to list all her Lehigh accomplishments and interests, which include a recent Student Life award, her design editorship of the Epitome, her role as president of the club volleyball team, her vice presidency of Colleges Against Cancer, her leadership position with Alpha Gamma Delta, internships, and her work with Community Service Office and the Residence Life Office as a first-year Gryphon.
Fletcher says that Merit allows her to “lay out all your positions, jobs, and awards in a fun way.”
If maintained, she says, “it’s a great way to show other students, professors, or employers the difference you made on Lehigh's campus. And beyond Lehigh, it will allow employers to get an honest snapshot of all your achievements in college without looking at a typical resume.”
Her advice for fellow students: “Create a Merit page, get involved, and document everything on your page. In the end, it can only help you. At the end of senior year, you will be happy to look back at everything you accomplished at Lehigh.”
Posted on:
Monday, September 15, 2014
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Both academic accomplishments and activities outside the classroom are noted on a Merit page, providing a comprehensive overview of the student's unique Lehigh experience.
This is what Asa Packer's Merit page would look like, if he had one.