This program is for first-year college students.

AlcoholEdu for College: Primary is a school-based, interactive, online program that is designed to prevent alcohol misuse.

Multiple studies have been conducted to evaluate the potential effects of AlcoholEdu for College: Primary. The strongest of these studies was a randomized trial that involved 30 universities across the United States. This study found significant reductions for program participants in the frequency of past-30-day alcohol use, binge drinking, and alcohol-related problems. However, none of these effects were sustained 5 months later from the fall to the spring semester.

AlcoholEdu for College: Primary is designed to educate participants about alcohol and other drugs, bystander intervention, and campus policies using a 2-part program. The first part consists of the following modules:

• Module 1: Introduction – review course objectives, understand what constitutes a standard drink measurement, take pre-assessment quiz;
• Module 2: It’s Your Choice – take Survey 1 and receive personalized feedback, learn from peers how alcohol can affect the college experience, reflect on personal choices;
• Module 3: Expectations and Relationships – examine social norming and discuss expectations of the college experience, consider how alcohol can affect relationships, explore how to make connections without using alcohol or other drugs;
• Module 4: Brain & Body – learn the effects that alcohol and other drugs can have on the brain and body, learn protective strategies from peers and experts, review content on cannabis and vaping, understand how alcohol can affect one’s ability to consent to sexual activity;
• Module 5: Being in Community – discuss federal and state laws and campus policies, learn how to care for others in an emergency, learn to recognize warning signs of substance-use disorders and how to practice bystander intervention strategies, realize that each person’s recovery journey is unique, and understand how to support peers who are in recovery;
• Module 6: Goals and Plans – make plans, set goals and reflect; identify personal strategies for staying safe around alcohol and other drugs; and
• Module 7: Conclusion – take post-assessment exam and Survey 2, review national and campus resources, and identify additional articles and videos on relevant topics.

The second part of the program includes a follow-up survey to measure learning outcomes and behavioral changes that have resulted from course completion.

AlcoholEdu Ongoing is also available as an ongoing substance abuse-prevention course for non-first year undergraduate students.

AlcoholEdu for College: Primary, which was first initiated around 2001, has been used by more than 700,000 first-year students per year.

Training information was not located.

Considerations for implementing this program include deciding whether to require participation of all incoming students and determining if sanctions for those who do not complete the program should be imposed (e.g., denying access to registration for the next semester), ensuring participants have access to a computer and the internet, gaining participant buy-in, and selecting an individual to serve as campus coordinator for the program.

The Clearinghouse can help address these considerations. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

If you are interested in implementing AlcoholEdu for College: Primary, the Clearinghouse is interested in helping you!  
Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Modules are completed during the early part of the participants’ first semester of college (i.e., usually late summer and/or early fall of the freshman year), and they take 90 minutes to complete. The follow-up survey should be completed 4 to 6 weeks after completion of the last module.

Information on implementation costs was not located.

To move AlcoholEdu for College: Primary to the Unclear+ category on the Clearinghouse Continuum of Evidence, studies need to demonstrate that program effects are not lost by the semester following implementation as they were in the study described above. In order to be placed as Promising, at least one evaluation should demonstrate positive program effects lasting at least six months from program completion.

The Clearinghouse can help you develop an evaluation plan to ensure the program components are meeting your goals. Please call 1-877-382-9185 or email Clearinghouse@psu.edu

Contact the Clearinghouse with any questions regarding this program.
Phone: 1-877-382-9185 Email: Clearinghouse@psu.edu

You may also contact EverFi by phone 1-800-945-2316 or visit https://help.everfi.com/s/contactsupport

https://help.everfi.com/s/article/AlcoholEdu-For-College-Primary and Paschall, Antin, Ringwalt, and Saltz (2011).

Abrams, G. B., Kolligian, J., Jr., Mills, D. L., & DeJong, W. (2011). Failure of college students to complete an online alcohol education course as a predictor of high-risk drinking that requires medical attention. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 37(6), 515-519. https://doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2011.600383

Paschall, M. J., Antin, T., Ringwalt, C. L., & Saltz, R. F. (2011). Effects of AlcoholEdu for College on alcohol-related problems among freshmen. A randomized multicampus trial. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 72(4), 642-650. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2011.72.642

Paschall, M. J., Antin, T., Ringwalt, C. L., & Saltz, R. F. (2011). Evaluation of an internet-based alcohol misuse prevention course for college freshmen: Findings of a randomized multi-campus trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41(3), 300-308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2011.03.021

Wyatt, T. M., DeJong, W., & Dixon, E. (2013). Population-level administration of AlcoholEdu for college: An ARIMA time-series analysis. Journal of Health Communication, 18(8), 898-912. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2011.626501

Nygaard, P., & Paschall, M. J. (2012). Students' experiences with web-based alcohol prevention: A qualitative evaluation of AlcoholEdu. Journal of Drug Education, 42(2), 137-158. https://doi.org/10.2190/DE.42.2.b

Hennessy, E. A., Tanner-Smith, E., Mavridis, D., & Grant, S. P. (2019). Comparative effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions for college students: Results from a network meta-analysis. Prevention Science, 20(5), 715-740. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0960-z

Paschall, M. J., Ringwalt, C., Wyatt, T., & DeJong, W. (2014). Effects of an online alcohol education course among college freshmen: An investigation of potential mediators. Journal of Health Communication, 19(4), 392-412. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2013.811328

Taylor, Pamela H., Smith, T. J., Henry, Beverly W., & Howell, S. M. (2021). Changes in alcohol-risk level after exposure to a computer-delivered intervention by generational status, race, and gender. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 65(1), 40-67.

Croom, K., Lewis, D., Marchell, T., Lesser, M. L., Reyna, V. F., Kubicki-Bedford, L., ... Staiano-Coico, L. (2009). Impact of an online alcohol education course on behavior and harm for incoming first-year college students: Short-term evaluation of a randomized trial. Journal of the American College Health Association, 57(4), 445-454. https://doi.org/10.3200/JACH.57.4.445-454

Hustad, J. T. P., Barnett, N. P., Borsari, B., & Jackson, K. M. (2010). Web-based alcohol prevention for incoming college students: A randomized controlled trial. Addictive Behaviors, 35(3), 183-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.10.012

Lovecchio, C. P., Wyatt, T. M., & DeJong, W. (2010). Reductions in drinking and alcohol-related harms reported by first-year college students taking an online alcohol education course: A randomized trial. Journal of Health Communication, 15(7), 805-819. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2010.514032

Wall, A. F. (2007). Evaluating a health education web site: The case of AlcoholEdu. National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Journal, 44(4), 692-714.