AlcoholEdu for College: Empowering Students for Responsible Choices

AlcoholEdu for College is an online, science-based program designed to provide college students with comprehensive information about alcohol and its effects. Used at over 600 colleges and universities across the country, it aims to empower students to make informed decisions about alcohol use, whether they choose to drink or not, and to promote a healthier campus environment.

Program Overview

AlcoholEdu for College is an interactive, online program designed to inform students about how alcohol affects the body, mind, perceptions, and behaviors. The course is composed of surveys, knowledge tests, and alcohol-related information. It typically takes 2-3 hours to complete and is often divided into two parts. Part I is generally completed before the start of the fall semester, while Part II is completed 30-45 days after Part I.

The program is personalized to each student based on their previous alcohol education and choices regarding alcohol. AlcoholEdu includes several chapters of content, interactive exercises, and assessments of alcohol-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Whether a student chooses to drink or not, this course will empower them to make well-informed decisions about their own use of alcohol and help to better cope with the drinking behavior of their friends and peers.

Content and Structure

Part I of AlcoholEdu typically includes:

Chapters 1-3
Two surveys
Two knowledge tests

This section covers topics such as standard drink sizes, the effects of alcohol on the brain and body, blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and strategies for harm reduction. It also includes interactive exercises, multimedia components, case studies, and self-reflection exercises.

Part II includes a follow-up survey and an opportunity for students to review and revise their personal plan for responsible alcohol consumption. It also covers new material, such as stress management techniques and recognizing problems related to alcohol misuse.

Key Components

Personalized Normative Feedback: Corrects student misperceptions about the acceptability and level of heavy drinking on campus.
Interactive Exercises: Challenges alcohol expectancies.
Harm Reduction Strategies: Provides recommendations for strategies to reduce the likelihood of heavy drinking and related consequences.
Multimedia Components: Includes informational text with graphics, audio discussions of topics, interactive animations, case studies with streaming video clips of college students in different drinking situations, blog simulations, and self-reflection exercises.

The Need for Alcohol Education in College

National epidemiological studies indicate that substantial numbers of college students experience negative consequences associated with alcohol use. Hingson et al. (2009) estimated that the number of alcohol-related unintentional injury deaths among college students increased from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005. They also estimated that, in 2001, 599,000 full-time 4-year students were injured because of drinking; 696,000 were hit or assaulted by another student who had been drinking; and 97,000 were victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. Additionally, the prevalence of past-year drinking and driving among college students increased from 26.5% in 1999 to 28.9% in 2005.

According to the “college effect,” student drinking patterns change upon arrival at college. Providing students with access to an informative and developmentally appropriate alcohol education program at this critical time represents just one piece of a comprehensive institutional initiative to address issues related to alcohol on campus.

Mandatory Alcohol Education Policies

Many universities now require all incoming students to complete AlcoholEdu as part of their orientation process. For example, all newly-enrolled, degree-seeking students on the Lawrence campus under the age of 21 as of August 1st of the academic year are required to complete the KU alcohol education online course. Similarly, all undergraduates attending Eastern Illinois University for their first time must complete AlcoholEdu. For the Spring implementation, this will include any new student entering for the first time during a spring semester. For the Fall implementation, any new summer student who will remain at Eastern in Fall, and any new Fall student must complete Alcoholedu and Haven. All incoming degree-seeking undergraduate students-including first-year and transfer students-must complete AlcoholEdu.

Failure to complete the course by the communicated deadline will result in a hold on the student's account that will prevent enrollment for the following semester.

Confidentiality

All survey responses within AlcoholEdu are strictly confidential. Universities will only receive information about the student body as a whole and will never see individual student answers.

Research and Effectiveness

Data suggest that AlcoholEdu significantly improves knowledge and increases protective behaviors among students who drink alcohol. A research study on AlcoholEdu showed that students who completed it experienced a 50% reduction in negative academic and personal consequences (Wall, 2007).

Several studies have investigated the effectiveness of AlcoholEdu for College:

A randomized controlled trial at one college found that students receiving AlcoholEdu had greater knowledge about alcohol use and alcohol-related harms after completing the program. However, there were no differences in the prevalence of alcohol use, protective behaviors, or alcohol-related harms between the AlcoholEdu and control groups (Croom et al., 2009).
Another study found that freshmen completing AlcoholEdu used less alcohol, were less likely to binge drink, and experienced fewer negative behavioral consequences of drinking compared to a control condition. However, participants completing AlcoholEdu had larger decreases in responsible drinking behaviors (e.g. eating prior to drinking, pacing drinking) compared to the assessment-only condition (Lovecchio et al., 2010).
A randomized controlled trial comparing AlcoholEdu to e-Checkup-to-Go (e-Chug) found that both programs were associated with decreased drinking during the first month of college (Hustad et al., 2010).
A multi-campus randomized controlled trial found that freshmen in colleges implementing AlcoholEdu used less alcohol and had a lower binge drinking frequency than freshmen attending colleges in the control condition. The colleges with the highest percent of students completing AlcoholEdu had the greatest decreases in freshmen alcohol use and binge drinking (Paschall et al., 2011a).
An analysis of the same multi-campus trial found that completion of the AlcoholEdu program reduced the risk of some alcohol-related problems in college freshmen during the fall semester. Freshman at colleges implementing AlcoholEdu also had lower rates of physiological, social, and victimization problems during the fall semester (Paschall et al., 2011b).

Addressing Common Concerns

"I don't drink." All entering students need to complete the course. Even if one does not drink, they may still be impacted by alcohol use in the college environment. AlcoholEdu provides personalized paths through the curriculum so if one doesn’t drink, they will receive support and specific information tailored to their choice.
"My religious beliefs forbid alcohol use." All entering students need to complete AlcoholEdu. Alcohol use in the college environment has the potential to affect everyone. Even if one doesn’t drink they may be impacted by the potential drinking behavior of their peers.

Accessing and Completing AlcoholEdu

To complete AlcoholEdu, students need a computer with internet access and audio capabilities. The program is personalized to each student based on their previous alcohol education and choices regarding alcohol. AlcoholEdu includes several chapters of content, interactive exercises, and assessments of alcohol-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Whether a student chooses to drink or not, this course will empower them to make well-informed decisions about their own use of alcohol and help to better cope with the drinking behavior of their friends and peers.

Students will have access to the program 24 hours a day and can complete the course at their own pace before scheduled deadlines.

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AlcoholEdu for High School

AlcoholEdu is not just for college students. AlcoholEdu for High School is an evidence-based, online alcohol prevention program that takes a project-based approach to learning, giving students the opportunity to travel through a community to better understand the risks around drinking alcohol.

Students travel through different points in the community (the town hall, a pizza place, a friend’s house), student progress unlocks various tools to help them design a billboard containing positive social messages they have learned throughout the course. Interactive format helps students understand how their decisions impact their own lives and their community. Incorporates multiple evidence-based learning theories to drive changes in students’ attitudes and behaviors.

Achieving Measurable Results

Based on the latest research and developed with input from experts, teachers and students, AlcoholEdu® for High School is an evidence-based, proven prevention strategy documented by the NIAAA and included in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

Our Data Shows that AlcoholEdu® for High School:

Engages teens: Over 90% of students said they paid attention to the course and over 80% of students recommend the course to their peers. Research shows that teens prefer to receive alcohol prevention via the Internet.*
Increases alcohol-related knowledge: The percentage of students passing the knowledge test increased by 32% from pretest to posttest (p < .01), with 93% of students passing the test after completing the course. The average score on the test increased from 66% to 84%.
Undermines acceptance of underage drinking: The percentage of students reporting that drinking alcohol is never acceptable for people under the age of 21 increased significantly from 37.8% at baseline to 47.5% after completing the course (p < .001).
Reduces Underage Drinking: The percentage of students who reported not drinking was significantly higher among students completing the course than among the control group (76.7% vs. 73.9%, p < .001). In addition, the percentage of students who reported that they drink and see no need to change their alcohol use was significantly lower among students completing the course than among the control group (13.1% vs. 14.7%, p < .001).
Reduces riding with an intoxicated driver: The percentage of students reporting they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking decreased significantly from 27.1% at baseline to 23.5% after completing the course (p < .001).

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