Students at Mary Baldwin University won’t need to keep track of major awards, accomplishments, and involvement in order to eventually build a resume — for the second year in a row, the institution is doing it for them on a personalized, public Merit page.
Used by more than 300 colleges in the United States, Merit allows institutions to recognize and promote accomplishments, and connect those achievements back to tailored audiences that have a vested interest in each student. Every student has a Merit page automatically created for her online, which is then updated by Mary Baldwin whenever they make the dean’s list, earn a scholarship, win an award, or are inducted into an honor society.
“With more than 70 percent of recruiters in the United States reporting that they’ve rejected candidates because of information they found online, we wanted to give every one of our students a hub for positive information about themselves,” said Crista Cabe, vice president for communication, marketing, and public affairs. “Plus, because updates to students’ Merit pages also reach friends and family via social media and other channels, the success of our students helps Mary Baldwin tell our story in a personalized way.”
Each student can further customize this self-building resume, should they wish to enhance their Merit page with additional activities, awards, or internships. Ultimately, students’ Merit pages become a collaborative, verified record of success that students can share with potential employers.
“At Merit, our goal is to make every student’s Merit page a place where their verified achievements and affiliations tell the story of their success in college and beyond,” said Colin Mathews, CEO of Merit, which launched in 2013 and now includes more than 3 million students with Merit pages.
Last year through Merit, Mary Baldwin reached 211 high schools with updates from their alumni, delivered 2,304 news stories to local media outlets, sent 4,025 emails to students and parents, and made 54,770 social media impressions.
“We provide an outstanding educational experience, but we can’t just say it: we have to prove it,” Cabe said. “Every student has an audience of people who cares about what she is doing here, and Merit makes it easy for us to reach them with stories of that student’s success. When we demonstrate the unique path of all our students via their Merit pages, we can show how we are preparing them for the next step by providing them with enriching academic and co-curricular experiences. Our students are doing amazing work on campus and beyond, all the time. Merit lets us recognize that success and share it with a community of people who care about every student. And by doing so, our students end up with a positive online presence that’s verified by Mary Baldwin University and enhances their reputations, as well.”