Sets Standard for Preemptive Alcohol Education by Administering Online AlcoholEdu Course to More Than 12,000 Students
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Jul 31, 2002--Kappa Alpha Theta, the first Greek-letter fraternity for women, announced it will mandate alcohol education for all of its members starting in the September 2002 school year.
More than 12,000 freshmen, sophomore and junior sorority members in 123 chapters throughout the United States will take a three-hour interactive course, AlcoholEdu, developed by Outside The Classroom, the leading provider of online health education for colleges and universities. Kappa Alpha Theta, which is one of the nation`s largest sororities, has contracted with Outside The Classroom to deliver the course to all its new members during the next four years.
''Binge drinking and other high-risk alcohol consumption can be a major problem for young men and women, especially early in their college careers,'' said Mary Jane Beach, Fraternity President of Kappa Alpha Theta of Kappa Alpha Theta. ''Research has shown that the strongest motivation for behavior change comes from relevant information delivered to students in effective and non-threatening ways. AlcoholEdu`s online format for the first time makes it easy and practical to provide this preemptive education to all our members nationwide.''
Recent research by the Harvard School of Public Health has shown that binge drinking by college-age women increased by 125% since 1993, while binge-drinking rates among men remained fairly steady over the same period. Other studies have shown that young men and women in the first months of their first year of college are at a higher risk of experiencing problems with alcohol than nearly any other demographic group. In ''A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges,'' the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) notes the staggering toll alcohol takes. The survey cites 1,400 alcohol-related deaths, 500,000 alcohol-related injuries, 70,000 alcohol-related sexual assaults, 2.1 million incidences of drunk driving, and 159,000 first-year student dropouts due to alcohol and drugs every year.
Implementing the AlcoholEdu course for all its members is a cornerstone of a broad educational program Kappa Alpha Theta has developed that also includes health issues, leadership, drug education, life skills, Fraternity topics, and community awareness.
''Kappa Alpha Theta is setting a new standard in the prevention field. Their decision to preemptively educate thousands of their members demonstrates one of the strongest commitments yet to preventing alcohol related problems,'' said Brandon Busteed, Founder and CEO of Outside The Classroom. ''No other issue affects college students in such a negative way as high-risk alcohol consumption, but most students have never received information or instruction to help them understand alcohol. They have traditionally entered college
ill-equipped to comprehend or anticipate the effects alcohol will have on their bodies, on their social, athletic, and educational performance, and on college culture generally.''
AlcoholEdu is an interactive, online course that students take in the privacy of their dorm rooms. Certification of completion of the course is recorded and confirmed for the sponsoring institution by Outside The Classroom. World-renowned experts in the field of alcohol awareness and abuse prevention developed the AlcoholEdu curriculum. The course integrates many proven prevention theories, including the latest scientific research on the biological and sociological effects of drinking as well as pragmatic information on how individual students can help their friends and communities be safe and responsible.
In addition to written material and a question-and-answer format, it includes multi-media video and audio presentations that keep students engaged and interested. Surveys and tests of students taken before and after the course indicate substantial increases in knowledge and awareness of issues related to problem alcohol consumption, which is the first and most effective step toward short- and long-term behavior change.
In accordance with recommendations of the American Medical Association and the NIAAA, AlcoholEdu is typically given to entire first-year classes of students within their first semester on campus - the critical time during which future attitudes and behaviors toward alcohol are determined. By offering a powerful ''educational intervention,'' AlcoholEdu not only engages the individual student, but also works to create a critical mass of informed, knowledgeable students, enabling changes in the campus culture that create a sense of individual responsibility and concern for others.
Outside The Classroom also serves schools as a critical resource for collecting data about student health issues using a dynamic web-based survey tool. TheHealthSurvey(TM) is the first and only online survey to accurately measure students` health-related thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors on a campus-specific basis. AlcoholEdu and TheHealthSurvey form the cornerstone upon which schools can build a comprehensive prevention strategy.
About Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta was the first Greek-letter fraternity for women. It has 123 chapters at colleges and universities across the US and Canada, with total initiated members numbering more than 175,000. Founded in 1870, Kappa Alpha Theta offers a nurturing environment on both large and small campuses, promoting academic excellence and providing growth and leadership opportunities for young men and women.
About Outside The Classroom, Inc.
Outside The Classroom (www.outsidetheclassroom.com), a Boston-based health education company, was founded to address critical behavioral health issues. The company`s flagship product, AlcoholEdu, is a non-opinionated, online course about alcohol and its effects on the body. This progressive approach to educating college students about the dangers associated with high-risk drinking was developed in answer to the increasingly urgent demands of college students and administrators throughout the country. Universities nationwide are gaining insight about key campus health trends and environmental policy issues by using AlcoholEdu in conjunction with TheHealthSurvey, a comprehensive, online assessment tool. In addition to the college market, Outside The Classroom provides world-class online health education for individuals and institutions ranging from colleges and high schools to corporations and the armed forces.
Outside The Classroom is a partner to many prominent organizations including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drugs, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
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