ALCOHOL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

AlcoholEdu

AlcoholEdu is an online course that challenges the ways that students think about alcohol (www.outsidetheclassroom.com). It is true primary prevention – a highly personalized, educational experience that produces strategic learning gains, changes perceptions, motivates behavior change and supports healthier decisions.  AlcoholEdu for College covers decision-making about drinking – from the influences on students’ decisions to practical scenarios that illustrate the real circumstances in which those decisions will have to be made. 

Hundreds of institutions nationwide are taking a new approach to alcohol prevention by introducing their students to AlcoholEdu for College, an online course that is changing the way students think about alcohol. AlcoholEdu for College is setting the standard for alcohol prevention and changing the culture of drinking on college campuses by providing Population-Level Prevention®. The course affects not only individual students, but also the community of students as a population, with all of its subgroups and social networks; our population-level approach uses the community and its linkages as part of the educational experience. AlcoholEdu for College uses proven prevention techniques and science based research to engage students. This is true primary prevention – a highly personalized, educational experience that produces strategic learning gains, changes perceptions, motivates behavior change and supports healthier decisions.

AlcoholEdu for College includes four chapters covering decision-making about drinking – from the influences on students’ decisions to practical scenarios that illustrate the real circumstances in which those decisions will have to be made. The course covers the following content:

• Shaping Our Decisions: Highlights the factors that influence students’ drinking decisions, including family and culture, social situations, media, and advertising.
• Knowing the Facts: Introduces the science- and research-based facts, including the impact of alcohol on the body, the factors influencing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels, its impact on risk-taking behaviors and decision-making, including drinking and driving, and the effects of various levels of BAC on learning and memory.
• When it Matters: Helps students design their own decision-making strategies, including handling parties, coping with peer pressure, understanding alcohol’s interactions with other drugs, finding a support network, and helping others address problems with alcohol.
• Deciding for Yourself: Encourages students to integrate key content and decision-making strategies with their experiences with alcohol since the start of the program (approximately 30 days earlier).

John Carroll University began requiring AlcoholEdu for College for all first-year students during the 2007-2008 academic year.  We have several accounts:  AlcoholEdu for College (First Year Pre-Matriculation), AlcoholEdu for Sanctions, AlcoholEdu for College (Student Leaders), & AlcoholEdu for College (Demo Course).  If you are required to take one of the above courses and you lost your instructions, or if you would like more information, please contact Ryan Knotts, Coordinator for Developmental Programming, at rknotts@jcu.edu or (216) 397-1973.

BASICS

BASICS stands for Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students. This program is offered free for all JCU students who may want to explore their alcohol and drug use, but the goal of the program is to reduce risky behaviors and harmful consequences of alcohol abuse. Some students attend BASICS to fulfill a court order as a result of an alcohol-related offense, while others come because they have concerns about their alcohol use. The program is designed to assist students in examining their own behavior in a judgment-free environment.

BASICS IS NOT a "Just Say No" or abstinence-only program. The counselor will provide objective feedback, based on questionnaires filled out by the student, in order to encourage positive changes in drinking behavior. Essentially, BASICS will provide the information and guidance, but what a student chooses to do with it is entirely up to him/her. The BASICS sessions are entirely confidential, and we will not disclose any information from the sessions to anyone, including a student's parents, without the student's permission (unless BASICS has been assigned as an educational sanction for an alcohol violation – in such cases we will inform the student conduct administrator that the student has completed BASICS but no information from the interview will be shared).

For more information on the BASICS Program or to schedule an appointment, call the Counseling Center at (216) 397-4283.

CHOICES

CHOICES:  A brief alcohol abuse prevention and harm reduction program brings together the latest research on college students and alcohol abuse.  CHOICES is a group program designed to be delivered by a professional(s) or peer educator(s) in one or two sessions over a period of ninety minutes to three hours.  Audience size will vary but individual sharing, questions, and discussion are encouraged in all formats.  Participants in Choices sessions will learn normative, psychological, and biological education about alcohol consumption and strategies for harm reduction.  A major component of the Choices program includes interactive journaling, which encourages students to reflect on their previous behaviors and make decisions on how to handle future situations.  John Carroll University has facilitated the CHOICES program to athletic teams, fraternities, sororities, and students adjudicated through the university conduct system.  If you would like to schedule a CHOICES program, please contact Ryan Knotts, Coordinator for Developmental Programming, at rknotts@jcu.edu or 216-397-1973.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

John Carroll University hosts an open AA meeting every Tuesday at 7:00 PM on the second floor of the JCU Green Road Annex, located at 2200 South Green Road.  For more information contact Dr. John Ropar, Director of the University Counseling Center at jropar@jcu.edu or 216-397-4283.