University of West Georgia
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT)
Many departments at UWG have been working on educating students about
the negative consequences of alcohol misuse, including Health Services,
Residence Life & Student Judicial Affairs, Student Development, Student
Activities, Public Safety, Physical Education & Recreation, and UWG
1101. However, national research indicates that education alone
is not sufficient to change behavior – campus educational approaches
need to be comprehensive and focused, and need to occur in a framework
of other efforts, including treatment efforts for students with alcohol
problems, policy enforcement on and off campus, and changing environmental
influences (such as alcohol availability, price, and advertising; and
campus culture regarding Thursday-Saturday expectations).
In the 2006-2007 academic year, we reorganized our approach to recognize the complexity of addressing this challenging issue. This approach uses a Social Ecological framework that incorporates approaches aimed at the student population as a whole, the broader college and community environment, and the individual student (as recommended by the Task Force of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, www.collegedrinkingprevention,gov). It includes an Executive Committee, and four teams – Educational Programming, Treatment Options & Resources, Off-Campus Partnerships, and Campus Policies & Enforcement. This approach recognizes that multiple strategies, by multiple players, are necessary to be effective.
ADAPT Goals
- Decrease negative outcomes associated with alcohol use by students.
- Violence
- Academic problems
- Attrition from UWG
- Establish partnerships with Carrollton and Carroll County to decrease illegal and high-risk drinking off-campus by students.
- Decrease incidence of underage drinking by students.
ADAPT Executive Committee
Melanie McClellan (Vice President for Student Services)
Tom Mackel (Director of Public Safety)
Jerry Hall (Director of Student Development & Assistant Dean of Students)
Leslie Cottrell (Director of Health Services)
Trish Causey (Interim Director of Residence Life & Student Judicial Affairs)
Michael Aldrich (Academic Affairs)
Educational Programming Team
Chair: Scot Lingrell (Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management)
- Create a comprehensive list of current on-campus educational efforts.
- Identify our educational goals.
- Identify points of contact for educational programming, with the focus on first and second-year students.
- Develop a comprehensive action plan and calendar for educational programming.
Treatment Options & Resources Team
Co-chairs: Jill Hendricks (Patient Advocate, Health Services), John
Frevert (Assistant Director, Student Development)
- Create a comprehensive list of treatment options and resources for students with alcohol problems.
- Develop recommendations of how students should be referred for these various treatment options and resources.
- Make recommendations as to how to communicate treatment options to the campus.
- Begin to identify needs for additional future resources.
Off-campus Partnerships Team (UWG-Carrollton Alcohol Alliance)
Chair: Melanie McClellan (Vice President for Student Services)
- Develop strategies to get the community to help discourage irresponsible alcohol use.
- Develop a plan to improve enforcement of alcohol laws.
Campus Policies & Enforcement Team
Chair: Trish Causey (Interim Director, Residence Life & Student Judicial
Affairs)
- Annually review policies, enforcement of policies, and communication about policies to determine if changes should be made
Links:
Drug Free Campus (pp. 47 & 48, Student Handbook)
Alcoholic Beverage Policy (pp. 121 & 122, Student Handbook)
Appendix A, Student Handbook
Alcoholic Beverage Guidelines for Student Organizations (p.25 Registered
Student Organizations Handbook (.pdf) )
Enforcement
of Laws Dealing with Underage Consumption and possession of Alcoholic Beverages
UWG Alcohol Posters
Resources:
If you believe you may have a problem with alcohol, or if you know someone who
may have a problem with alcohol, please contact Health Services (678-839-6452)
or the Student Development Center (678-839-6428) for free, confidential help.
To request a class or presentation on alcohol use, contact Debra Dugan, Health Educator, 678-839-0642, or go to http://www.westga.edu/~health/request.shtml
Web Resources related to alcohol use among college students:
www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/
www.edc.org/hec/
www.alcoholpolicysolutions.net/
www.AlcoholScreening.org
www.thenetwork.ws/
www.factsontap.org/
www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/
www.centurycouncil.org
www.alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu