Earlier this month, 75 percent of the freshman class completed Part Two of AlcoholEdu, an online learning and assessment tool, marking a drop in participation from 98 percent for Part One. The class of 2014 is the first Wesleyan class to participate in the course, and data produced from surveys will be used for programming and planning purposes with the University Health Center, WesWELL, and Residential Life.

“The data was not surprising in that it shows that alcohol and marijuana are the two drugs of choice for incoming students, as they are with current Wes students,” wrote Director of University Health Center Joyce Walter in an e-mail to The Argus. “The rates [for these drugs] are similar as noted for other NESCAC [New England Small College Athletic Conference] schools using AlcoholEdu.”

Students were required to complete Part One prior to coming to campus, and were later asked to complete Part Two by Nov. 2. Students must have earned a grade of 75 percent or higher on the course to receive credit for it.

“I am pleased to report that 50 percent of the incoming students did not have anything to drink in the two weeks prior to the first survey and 85 percent and 74 percent did not use cigarettes or marijuana, respectively, two weeks prior to the survey,” Walter wrote.  “Wesleyan students had lower rates of all other drug use as compared to other NESCAC schools.”

According to Walter, the results from Part Two will not be available until December.

The program was introduced this year in an effort to increase student awareness and address unrealistic expectations about the effects of alcohol. While it is too soon to tell whether the introduction of AlcoholEdu has influenced student behavior, administrators said that fewer students were sent to the emergency room during this year’s orientation week.

“I can say that September was lower than the previous year as far as the number of transports,” said Director of Public Safety Dave Meyer.

AlcoholEdu includes video clips offering advice about dealing with situations like drunk friends, alcohol-related sexual advances, and drunk driving. Students are taught how to measure one standard drink and how to calculate blood alcohol content depending on number of drinks consumed over a certain time period. The course also listed preventative solutions to help students drink safely, like pouring one’s own drinks and one drink per hour limits.

Part Two included surveys measuring students’ behavior and attitudes towards alcohol. Students also reviewed the “Personal Plan” for responsible drinking that they created before arriving at Wesleyan.

Wesleyan was able to add customization to the AlcoholEdu program, including links to Wesleyan’s AOD policy, honor code, and medical amnesty policy. According to Walter, 102 students clicked on the link for AOD policy; 108 students clicked the link for honor code; zero students clicked the link for medical amnesty, the policy that prevents students from self-incrimination if they call for medical help.

“On the positive side, the report shows that 545 students would like to attend events that do not focus on alcohol and 93 students would like to plan events that do not focus on alcohol,” Walter said. “Hundreds of students identified they would be interested in non-alcoholic events such as movie nights, community service, trips to cultural events, outdoor activities and intramural sports.”

Some students noted that the program has helped them.

“AlcoholEdu was time-consuming, but it actually gave me useful information that I’ve used so far at Wesleyan,” said Mary Foster ’14.

Walter said that the program should allow students to make better choices about alcohol and drug use at college.

“My hope is that students begin to realize that the majority of students are drinking in a less harmful manner and do not put themselves at risk,” Walter said. “I believe that AlcoholEdu provides valuable information that is critical in making healthier decisions regarding alcohol.”

Meyer, who was pleased with the introduction of the program, expressed hope that its influence would continue throughout the year.

“Education is an important part,” Meyer said. “I think that one of the things we’ve talked about is how to keep it flowing through the years. You can’t overload freshmen during orientation—there’s got to be continuous follow-up. I don’t think you should hit them with something once and expect them to carry it through the semester.”