The University of Colorado at Boulder is continuing its efforts to connect students to their school and community early in the year, and to help them avoid the negative consequences of what's known as the "college effect."
During the first six weeks of college, drinking and high-risk drinking behaviors and the negative consequences associated with them typically increase, while abstinence from drinking decreases, according to Jane Curtis, CU-Boulder's director of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Program.
The "college effect" pattern of high-risk drinking at the start of the school year is something CU-Boulder is addressing by helping students to quickly get engaged in their new community.
A key component of that engagement effort is found in AlcoholEdu, an online science-based alcohol education course that all incoming CU-Boulder freshmen are asked to take. More than 3,800 out of 5,600 incoming freshmen voluntarily have signed on to take Part 1 of the course this year, the second year it has been offered at CU-Boulder. The course is designed for all incoming students and provides customized pathways based on each student's drinking pattern and gender.
"One of the main goals of AlcoholEdu is to educate our incoming students about alcohol, and how it affects their minds and bodies, and how it can impact their college careers and the greater campus community," Curtis said. "The whole idea is that college is about more than academics, it's about social interactions and extracurricular activities. Whether students drink or not, the course is designed to help them make informed decisions about alcohol and to give them tools and strategies to cope with the possible drinking behavior of their peers."
Another significant goal of the course is to connect students to campus programs and activities that don't involve alcohol. Students can express interest in alcohol and sexual assault prevention programs and alcohol-free activities on campus by clicking information boxes, which send each student's contact information to Curtis, who forwards it on to the appropriate campus program.
"CU-Boulder data mirrors national trends, we have more students coming to college who choose to abstain from drinking," Curtis said. "It's important that we provide activities and services for this demographic, as this will also assist us in creating a healthy learning and living environment."
More than 2,100 students have signed up to find out about attending events that do not focus on alcohol, 374 said they are interested in planning events that do not focus on alcohol, 58 said they want to get involved in the development or revision of alcohol policies and 208 would like to join a student organization that advocates for prevention and education concerning sexual assault issues on campus.
"Part of our approach is to help students create social connections -- our students arrive here from all over the world and they're trying to connect," said Curtis. "This is a tool to help our students connect with each other outside the classroom, because activities outside the classroom impact their learning in the classroom."
Other activities that drew students' attention included bowling with 1,030 expressing interest, movie nights with more than 1,480, live music with 1,638, trips to cultural events with 533, fitness classes with 1,163, Wii tournaments with 544, outdoor adventures with 1,360 and community service with 752.
A third goal of the program is to engage students through the program's interactive exercises, which include blogs and videos. Many students who have done this have provided positive comments, according to Curtis, including one who wrote, "I like that it made you feel like you don't have to drink to have fun, which I personally believe is a huge factor."
Students also are putting what they learn into practice. "Not only are students learning, but they are also applying some of the protective behaviors highlighted in the course, including pacing their drinks, alternating between alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, not accepting a drink from a common source like a punchbowl and avoiding drinking games," Curtis said.
The overall student engagement effort is a work in progress, and one of the next goals is to learn more about CU-Boulder's incoming students and their high school drinking patterns, according to Curtis.
"We also want to continue to educate parents and incoming students on the services that are available to them here on campus," Curtis said.
For more information about the Alcohol and Other Drugs Program visit /.