Published August 16, 2024
CAPTION: Dr. Joshua Stockley, Director of the ULM Honors Program, poses with the two awards the program received at the Pathways 2024 conference in Philadelphia, Pa.
MONROE, LA – The University of Louisiana Monroe Honors Program received two awards at Pathways
2024, a national student success conference hosted by Suitable in Philadelphia, Pa.
from July 24-26, 2024. Nominated for five awards, the two awards were for the FLIGHT
Program, an experiential digital badging curriculum requiring students to master seven
competencies essential to professional, personal, and social growth. Suitable is a
software platform and app that assists universities in boosting student engagement
outside the classroom.
The first award was for Highest Engagement. According to Suitable, “This award recognizes programs that have achieved a high level
of engagement among its students. These programs have a clear insight into what motivates
students and have implemented a variety of strategies to encourage student participation
and involvement.” The FLIGHT Program achieved 100% engagement in its first year.
The Honors FLIGHT Program received a second award for Outstanding New Program. According to Suitable, “This award recognizes new programs
that launched in the past academic year and have made a significant impact on student
engagement. The award is given to programs that have hit the ground running, built
a strong foundation, and have a dedicated team supporting their success.” The FLIGHT
Program was launched in the 2023-2024 academic year.
“I am honored to have received two awards for the FLIGHT Program,” said Dr. Joshua
Stockley, director of the ULM Honors Program. “It is a testament to the hard work,
collaboration, and innovativeness of both ULM and the honors program. The world is
changing rapidly; our curriculums need to embrace this fact. The FLIGHT Program acknowledges
that our students are living in a rapidly evolving world and that they need to be
prepared for careers and jobs that do not currently yet exist.”
The FLIGHT Program was nominated for three other awards - Best Branding, Best Marketing
Strategy, and the Suitable Spirit Award. Best Branding is presented to programs that
created a memorable and exciting branding campaign to engage students and to impress
stakeholders. Best Marketing Strategy recognizes programs that demonstrated exceptional
innovation, originality, and effectiveness in their marketing strategy. The Suitable
Spirit Award recognizes programs that embody the values of Suitable, including teamwork,
creativity, excellence, diversity, integrity, persistence, and grit.
“Pathways was an outstanding experience with insightful discussions and excellent
opportunities to engage fellow professionals in the digital badging and career readiness
arena. I look forward to applying what I learned from others to take the FLIGHT Program
to the next level,” said Stockley.
About the FLIGHT Program
FLIGHT stands for Forging Leaders, Inspiring Growth, and Harnessing Talent. The program
enacts a point system tied to events and activities on campus and within the broader
local community. Points earned culminate in digital badges highlighting students'
earned competencies that may be placed on resumes, LinkedIn profiles, professional
portfolios, and other professional documents.
Students who are active outside the classroom develop important practical and relational
skills that are valuable to employers and advanced degree programs. Students who cultivate
the skills highlighted in the FLIGHT Program present thorough credentials that graduate
schools, exclusive internships, and competitive jobs around the world look for in
a candidate.
The FLIGHT Program is powered by Suitable, an app that allows students to track point
totals and badge progress, learn about upcoming events, and check in at events using
the built-in QR code reader. Suitable also produces a co-curricular transcript which
allows students to showcase earned badges and competencies to potential employers
and postgraduate degree programs.
For more information visit: ulm.edu/honors/honors-flight.html
About the ULM Honors Program
The ULM Honors Program is a unique program within ULM that seeks intellectually curious
students who desire to challenge themselves with new ideas and to work with similarly
motivated students. The program is open to all majors and works within all degree
programs. Honors students are exposed to more in-depth topics and work closely with
faculty in smaller courses.
For more information about the Honors Program contact Dr. Joshua Stockley at stockley@ulm.edu or 318-342-3216 or visit ulm.edu/honors.
