Fort Lewis College student photo collage
All FLC students can benefit from a Merit online profile.

Recognize student achievements through Merit

What is Merit?

Fort Lewis College uses a program called Merit to publicize student achievements and activities on campus – like studying abroad, making the dean’s list, or winning a scholarship. It creates personalized stories about these accomplishments, publishes them in an online profile, and sends them to hometown newspapers. This makes sure students get credit for the good work they’re doing on campus, which helps with summer jobs, internships, and even job interviews and references after graduation.

Look at FLC's Meritpages!

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Why is Merit important for students?

  • Merit helps people who make decisions about internships, grad school, and jobs find the “good stuff” about students, and recognizes their accomplishments with badges that show that they’re authentic.
  • A Merit profile creates a positive online identity for post-graduation success. 75% of companies research applicants online, and 70% have rejected applicants based on what they found there.

What types of accomplishments will be included?

  • Enrollment
  • Graduation
  • Dean's List
  • Research paper publishing and conference presentations
  • Merit scholarships
  • Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities
  • Honors Convocation recognition
  • Student Outdoor Leadership leaders
  • Orientation Leaders
  • Membership on Environmental Center teams
  • Student Ambassadors
  • Study abroad travel and scholarships
  • Internships and co-ops
  • Conference attendance
  • Departmental honor societies
  • Varsity sports
  • CRLA certified tutors
  • National Student Exchange participation
  • Leadership of Level 2 & 3 Registered Student Organizations

Can other types of accomplishments be included?

  • Yes! While we can only include certain official accomplishments through this process, students will have the ability to add other accomplishments to their profile. They will appear in a different part of the profile, under the heading "Added by student" to differentiate them from the FLC-approved achievements.
  • Involvement in Registered Student Organizations, club and intramural sports, on- or off-campus employment, and other achievements can be added by students.
  • If you have an idea for a formal student accomplishment that isn't included in the list above, email Nardy Baeza Bickel, manager of FLC's Merit initiatives. The best hometown news releases include multiple students.

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FERPA & Confidentiality

FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, governs how we share any student information.

  • Any students that have a FERPA Confidentiality hold on their account will not be included in any Merit announcements. If they are accidentally included on a spreadsheet, our follow-up process will delete them.
  • All students are notified about Merit each semester; most responses have been positive. However, if students tell you they don't want to be included, please email Nardy Baeza Bickel, so they can be placed on a “blacklist” and kept out of all future announcements. Students also have the ability to un-publish their online profile by themselves at any time.
  • Ensure that all information provided in the spreadsheet is “directory information,” as defined by FERPA. See FERPA guidelines here.