Prevention Resources for Universities
Since its launch in 2003, more than 3,000 colleges and universities have implemented the award-winning and independently evaluated Alcohol101+ program to educate their students on the dangers of binge drinking and the importance of healthy decision making. In 2021, as we celebrated 30 years of impact, Responsibility.org launched a fully digital, cost-free, updated version of the Alcohol101+ program for today’s college and university students. While significant progress has been made to prevent underage drinking within the last decade, binge drinking on college campuses has remained relatively unchanged, and the new Alcohol101+ program aims to:
- Increase student awareness of the potential hazards of binge drinking.
- Increase student intention to change drinking behaviors.
- Contribute to behavior change by decreasing binge drinking.
- Increase empathy and understanding that personal drinking choices impact others.
“This one was more engaging than other programs. That’s the best part about it. It’s not just answering questions, it actually interacts with you.” – Male Student, Age 19, Class of 2024
Developed by Responsibility.org under the advisement of a group of experts in the field of prevention on college campuses, the Alcohol101+ program is based in the constructs of the transtheoretical model of behavior change, or the Stages of Change model. The theory posits that people reside in different stages when it comes to modifying their behavior and should be provided with programming that is tailored to their specific stage of change. Thus, the Alcohol101+ program will provide students with resources tailored to their own experiences with and perceptions of alcohol.
Ensuring a theoretical basis to the program was crucial and creating a program that was engaging for students was equally as important. College students today are digital natives, who digest digital content quickly – they expect highly polished, seamless user experiences, and material that feels authentic and relatable. Alcohol101+ was tested among first- and second-year college students to ensure that the program presented both an effective and engaging way to learn, and therefore was an informative and valuable learning tool.
Through highly interactive and quick-paced digital content, Alcohol101+ covers core alcohol education topics including:
- Bystander intervention skills.
- Education on the consequences and dangers of binge drinking.
- Blood alcohol content and standard drink education.
- Alcohol’s impact on the developing brain.
- Strategies for low-risk drinking.
Responsibility.org is committed to measuring impact – college administrators using the program will have access to pre- and post-program data and a tailored metrics dashboard while students receive a personalized feedback report upon completion.
“The texting unit was actually extremely informative and fun. I felt as though I was playing a phone game rather than completing an educational course. I would definitely recommend that to colleges to teach about the dangers of drinking and peer pressure.” – Female Student, Age 18, Class of 2025
“I think that the language, graphics, and presentation of the scenarios do allow for people my age to learn about alcohol consumption and safety through a more interactive and memorable form than other traditional alcohol safety programs.” – Female Student, Age 19, Class of 2024
“I liked it. It was definitely more engaging, entertaining than the stuff I had done last year. Each module was interactive and visually appealing with pops of color, fun fonts, stuff like that. It was way more entertaining, and I felt more inclined to play around with it for longer than I did with other programs I’ve done in the past.” – Female Student, Age 18, Class of 2024
The Alcohol101+ program is cost-free to all users. Implementation of prevention programming like Alcohol101+ before students arrive on campus or during the first few weeks can help support students’ successful transition to campus life while reducing their engagement in high-risk behaviors.
To register to use the program, visit Alcohol101.plus
“Overall, I appreciated the fact that it was unique and not like anything I had seen before. I especially liked the text message one. I liked that we could pick our choices and see what our choices might lead to. I really thought that was unique.” – Female Student, Age 20, Class of 2024
Alcohol101+ was developed under the advisement of a group of experts in the field of prevention on college campuses. This working group consisted of the following individuals:
- David S. Anderson, Ph.D., George Mason University, Professor Emeritus of Education and Human Development
- Susie Bruce, M.Ed., The Gordie Center at the University of Virginia, Director
- Robert J. Chapman, Ph.D., Drexel University, Associate Clinical Professor of Behavioral Health Counseling (retired)
- Ashley Hinton-Moncer, M.S., M.P.H., University of Kentucky, Student Wellness Director
- Aimee Hourigan, University of South Carolina, Director of Substance Abuse Prevention and Education
