AlcoholEdu required for new spring semester students

Research shows that students do not know how much alcohol is in one drink. AlcoholEdu for College educates students about a “standard drink,” or the specific amount of beer, wine or liquor that contains the same total amount of alcohol. This knowledge helps students better understand concepts like blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

9:26 a.m., Feb. 27, 2007--All freshman and transfer students who entered UD spring semester are required to take an online alcohol education program, AlcoholEdu for College. As announced at DelaWorld on Jan. 18, students who do not complete the course by April 20, will not be able to register for fall semester 2007 classes.

The course is aimed at creating a learning experience that motivates behavior change, resets unrealistic expectations about the effects of alcohol, links choices about drinking to academic and personal success, and helps students practice healthier and safer decision-making.

The entire course takes 2-3 hours and consists of two parts. The first part should have been completed by March 13. Students also must pass an exam with a score of 80 percent or higher. Upon successful completion of the first part, students will receive an e-mail approximately 30 days later to log back into the course and complete the second part, which takes about 15-30 minutes.

Incoming students who have not yet logged onto the course should go to [www.udel.edu/network] and enter their UDelNet ID and password. Students will then click on “Go to AlcoholEdu” to begin the course.

"Requiring all new students to complete AlcoholEdu is just one more tool we have in our efforts to reduce the problems related to high-risk drinking," Tracy Downs, program coordinator at Wellspring, UD's Student Wellness Program, said.

Tracy Downs, program coordinator at Wellspring, UD's Student Wellness Program: "Requiring all new students to complete AlcoholEdu is just one more tool we have in our efforts to reduce the problems related to high-risk drinking."

Used on more than 450 college and university campuses nationwide, the course is designed as a population-level prevention program to be given to an entire population of students, such as an entering first-year class or a national Greek organization.

More than 250,000 students nationwide have taken AlcoholEdu for College, producing the world's largest database on college students and alcohol based on their responses to course surveys.

An independent evaluation of AlcoholEdu for College by Andrew Wall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign showed that students who completed AlcoholEdu experienced a 50 percent reduction in negative academic and personal consequences, such as missing class, blacking out, having unprotected sex and vomiting in public.

“Our primary reason for making this population-level effort to focus on alcohol education is simply the concern we have about the health and safety of our students,” John Bishop, UD associate vice president for counseling and student development, said.

AlcoholEdu is part of a broader effort at UD to combat underage drinking and drug abuse, funded in part by a $1.2 million three-year federal grant.

Any questions about AlcoholEdu should be directed to Downs at [alcoholedu@udel.edu].

Photo by Kevin Quinlan

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