National Collegiate Athletic Association

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DIII/NASPA pilot offers online tool to combat alcohol abuse

By Kat Krtnick
NCAA.org

The partnership between Division III and NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) has taken an important step forward with the development of an online resource to help reduce the consequences of alcohol use on college campuses and enhance student success through campus collaboration and integration.

The primary resource for campuses will be a web portal, with a supplemental training and implementation program. About two dozen Division III schools will use the portal this year as part of a pilot program developed by Division III and NASPA.

“The program will be adaptable and versatile, designed with the ultimate goal of expanding to other issues and institutions,” said Dan Dutcher, NCAA Division III vice president.  

Based on the belief that any one action a campus takes is a piece of an overall puzzle, the web portal will feature:

• A Personalized Feedback Intervention, which is an online instrument that provides immediate feedback to students about their alcohol and drug behavior and that of their peers. (This mechanism has been empirically shown to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences among college students.)
• A self-study campus assessment tool, which will help institutions identify areas where improvements can be made.
• A best-practices tool, which will deliver information from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to help campuses activate and execute alcohol and drug curriculum and programs.

“Ultimately, the resource is designed to encourage campuses to create a comprehensive plan that reaches individual students, teams and the entire campus,” said Kevin Kruger, NASPA president. “It also ensures each plan focuses on four important elements: policies, enforcement, education and prevention/intervention programs.”

To help campuses establish the infrastructure necessary to use and sustain the web portal, a training and implementation program will be offered, as well as a promotional kit to help underscore the value of the web portal to a variety of campuses audiences, ranging from presidents and faculty to athletics and student affairs practitioners.

The Personalized Feedback Intervention will be piloted in 2012-13, and the remaining program elements will be piloted in 2013-14. The full program will launch for the fall of 2014.