To the Editor:
Concerning the article “Transfer students dodge alcohol ed requirements,” there are few points we would like to clarify. Letter to the editor in response to AlcoholEDU The University of Wyoming encourages all new students to participate in AlcoholEDU and Haven when they come to campus. Since 2008, all incoming freshmen have been required to complete AlcoholEDU. Starting this fall, UW is expanding this program to include all transfer students with under 60 credit hours. Transfer students who have over 60 hours are strongly encouraged to complete the programs, but are not required. Transfer students with 60 or more hours transferred are typically older and have more college and life experiences. The average age for our fall 2015 transferring class with more than 60 hours is 26. Requiring those transfer students to complete AlcoholEDU is less practical.
The article also questioned the impact of the AlcoholEDU on the student population. Our recent data from the 2014-2015 academic year suggests that students are positively impacted, with 86 percent reporting that the program “helped me establish responsible decisions around alcohol.” In addition, more students expressed positive behavioral intentions such as avoiding drinking games, pacing drinks and reducing frequency of drinking after going through the program. Lastly, we have seen the number of high-risk drinkers fall from 32 percent in 2008 (the year AlcoholEDU was first implemented) to 20 percent in 2014.
We are committed to the health and well-being of our students. This involves ensuring students have access to information that can aid them in responsible decision-making. AlcoholEDU is one of many tools intended to fulfill this role. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.uwyo.edu/ucc/aware/ or call us at (307) 766-2187.
Sincerely,
Monica Keele DVM MPH
AWARE Program Coordinator
