California Higher Education Alcohol and Other Drugs 2012 Conference

Best Practices

NorthridgeCSU Northridge

A highlight of CSU Northridge's comprehensive alcohol, tobacco, and other drug education and prevention efforts this year is the new Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) Seminar.

Fall 2011, a Housing Assistant Community Director and the Klotz Student Health Center Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Counselor collaborated to create and facilitate a highly interactive ATOD monthly seminar to complement existing sanctions. (Student Housing uses a variety of judicial interventions to address ATOD violations. For relatively minor infractions, students might be asked to write a reflection paper or develop an ATOD educational brochure. For more serious cases, students might be referred to the Klotz Student Health Center for substance use counseling.)

The seminars focus on social norms, skills building, and role play. For example, the Spring 2011 National College Health Assessment yielded social norms data for both alcohol and marijuana use, which was incorporated into the seminar.

The seminar's effectiveness is continually assessed. Initially, assessments were focused on satisfaction and self-reported skills building. Since then, objective assessment of learning outcomes through pre- and post-tests has been added.

There have been six seminars to date. Since testing has been implemented, students have increased their pre- to post-test scores by an average of approximately 40 percent. The average score on post-tests is an impressive 80 percent. Evaluations show that many students are receptive to moderating alcohol use, incorporating protective behaviors, and engaging in bystander behavior.

To ensure the program's sustainability, professional staff co-facilitates the seminar on a rotating basis.

For more information, contact Marianne Link.