Education and Awareness

Historically, institutions of higher education (IHEs) have focused on prevention strategies oriented to individual students. These programs generally fall within the realm of education and awareness activities. Campuses have employed these strategies to raise students’ awareness about the risks of alcohol and other drug use. The underlying idea is that as students’ awareness of the dangers and risks increases, the likelihood of their engaging in this behavior will decrease.

Evaluations of college-based educational programs have demonstrated that when these strategies are used in isolation, they have not resulted in reductions in high-risk student behavior. However, education and awareness strategies that are integrated in a multi-faceted, science-based prevention approach can play a role in changing the campus environment and promoting messages of health and safety. As such they can be a productive part of a comprehensive approach to addressing high-risk behaviors among students.

Many campuses employ programs such as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level cards and peer education programs to demonstrate increases in risk associated with alcohol use. Some education efforts are targeted to particular times of the year, for instance, freshman orientation programs, alcohol awareness weeks, and messages promoting safety around typically high-risk times, such as homecoming or Halloween. At some campuses, faculty have incorporated lessons and messages to draw attention to the risks of alcohol and other drug use into their courses, a process known as "curriculum infusion." Some campuses make use of online education strategies to promote health and safety messages to students in attempts to curtail their high-risk behavior.