Showcasing Panther Success
Merit Pages highlights student achievements and shares their stories of excellence.
These stories include:
- Dean’s list inclusion
- Scholarships
- Presenting research/academic work
- Winning awards
- Internships
- Volunteering
- RSO & club involvement
- Work experience
- Other recognition & accomplishments
helps showcase student accomplishments from admission through graduation and creates an online presence that will set students apart as they enter the workforce. This makes it easier for employers, graduate schools and internship coordinators to discover and recognize student success.
Merit Pages, in partnership with EIU Marketing & Communications, also turns student accomplishments into personalized stories.
Students can share Merit Page accomplishments on LinkedIn and other social platforms, but with Merit, we’re also able to share their achievements with families, hometown media, former high schools and more.
Submit a Story or Accomplishment for Merit Pages
Faculty, staff and students are asked to let us know about their accomplishments (awards, honors, etc.) so we can inform the media, including their local newspapers.
If you are a faculty member or administrator looking to share news about your students’ awards and achievements, Merit allows you to enter individual student names or upload a full spreadsheet of recipients. Merit handles the rest by matching students with their hometowns and local media outlets and adding the achievement to each student's personal Merit Page.
Merit Pages FAQ
How does Merit Pages work?
- Claim your and customize it by adding photos, videos, bios, club memberships, volunteer opportunities, extracurriculars and work experience.
- When you receive recognition for awards, honors and other achievements, Marketing & Communications will write personalized stories about your accomplishments.
- Stories are published on your Merit profile and shared with your family, hometown news outlets, former high schools and government representatives and you can easily share your achievements on social media.
How do I access my Merit Page?
- Once you are admitted to EIU, you will receive a welcome message that includes a link to your personal Merit page along with a temporary username and password that can be changed once you have logged in.
- You can also visit the EIU site and click “sign in” on the top right corner to follow the “forgot password” steps to log in with your EIU email address.
- After logging in to your personal page, you can create a customized URL, add a profile picture, bio, other activities, work experience or connect to your LinkedIn profile. Changes can be made to personal information, such as name, email address, hometown and major.
What else can I do with Merit Pages?
How does Merit Pages enhance my EIU experience?
Your Merit Page showcases how EIU prepares students for success while fostering your growth as an engaged and valuable member of your community. By linking academic achievements with career-building opportunities, Merit Pages highlights the holistic education you receive.
When you and your family share your Merit stories, you help spread the word about the amazing work you are doing at EIU. Celebrating student accomplishments not only recognizes your success but also shines a light on opportunities available as a Panther.
How do you determine where to send my stories?
Your college success stories are sent to your university email address. They are also automatically shared with family member email addresses provided during the admissions process. Hometowns and state legislators are determined based on the zip code associated with your permanent address and high schools are based on the information you provided on your admission application (or the permanent address in PAWS).
Most of this information can be updated in your Merit profile. To view and make changes to addresses on file with your account, login to and go to “My Account.” From there, click on “Privacy.”
How can friends and family get updates on my accomplishments?
Family members whose email addresses are on record will automatically be alerted each time a new story is posted. Interested parties may also visit , search for a student, and click the “follow” button. They will be prompted to create an account that allows them to follow students’ achievements.
If you prefer not to share stories with family members associated with your registration, you can remove email addresses from automatic distribution by logging into your Merit account, clicking on “My Account” and then clicking “Privacy.”
What about privacy?
We value your privacy. Content shared by Merit Pages will only include information about students that is designated as “Directory Information” under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
You can control privacy settings, including how people can discover their Merit profile, disable followers, etc. You can your Merit profile privacy settings as needed.
How can I opt out of Merit Pages?
We respect your decision to keep certain achievements private. If you wish, simply .