Whether you are brand new to the U or have been part of the campus community for many years, it’s time you learned about Merit Pages. For four years now, the U has been using Merit Pages to share personalized student success stories all around the world. The program customizes stories by putting students’ names in the headlines and then shares the news with their hometown news outlets, high schools, state representatives and family members. Students and family members can then share their accomplishments on social media.

“Students achieve so much while they are at the U,” said Morgan Aguilar, communications specialist, University Marketing & Communications. “Merit Pages is a great tool for us to be able to recognize all they are doing both in and out of the classroom and share that celebratory moment with their loved ones whether they are in Utah or thousands of miles away.”

So far, the U has recognized 34,145 students through Merit Pages for achievements including making the Dean’s List, being cast in a play, publishing impactful research, graduating and much more. On social media, those stories have been liked, shared and commented on about 161,000 times for an estimated 46 million impressions.

“We see a lot of parents sharing how proud they are of their students’ successes during their time at the U,” said Aguilar. “We’ve also seen nearly 2,000 government representatives reach out with a congratulatory message to students in their districts as well as high school principals and guidance counselors letting their former students know how proud they are of all they are accomplishing in college.”

So far in 2021, the U has published 18 Merit Pages stories resulting in:

• 24,612 student emails
• 31,837 parent emails
• 75,400 shares, reactions, comments and clicks on social media for an estimated 19.9 million impressions
• 3,320 press releases sent to 33,602 postal codes in 54 states
• Email updates sent to principals and guidance counselors at 2,400 high schools in 53 states
• Updates sent to 3,530 government representatives in 51 states
• 117 of the officials notified represent the state of Utah

After enrolling at the U, students will receive a welcome mail from Merit Pages inviting them to update their profile and privacy settings. Students can select who receives updates about their achievements or opt out of the service entirely.

If you have an idea for a Merit Pages story, or other questions about the program, please contact unews@utah.edu.

Now U know!