More Colleges Turn to Online Alcohol Prevention

AlcoholEdu, a web-based alcohol prevention program developed by Outside the Classroom, is now in use at more than 120 colleges nationally, up from just 30 two years ago.

The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 1 that the three-hour course has become more popular with school administrators because it delivers information on alcohol risks quickly to students. The program, which costs schools between $5,000 and $30,000 per year, also generates survey data based on student response.

However, some students chafe at taking the required three-hour course. "Very few people take it seriously," said Phoebe Luong, 18, a freshman at the University of Southern California. University of Scranton freshman Jamie Fiorello, 18, said that a trauma physician who visited her high school with tales of gory emergency room cases resulting from alcohol was more effective. "No one took AlcoholEdu seriously," Fiorello said, adding that students are "not going to let an online course influence their decision" about drinking.

But Paula Swinford, who directs health and prevention programs at the University of Southern California, contends, "If they're complaining together, [they're] creating a buzz about it."

Schools typically require freshmen and transfer students to complete AlcoholEdu. Some researchers say that students who took the course were less likely to later report negative consequences from drinking, such as missed classes and engaging in unprotected sex. Outside the Classroom contends that incoming freshmen who take the course are less likely to binge drink.