Summer is often the time when new students are greeted with new programs that are intended to help serve their needs. Increasing numbers of people are seeking college degrees, and with that comes both increasing levels of enrollment in commuter programs, and increased usage of bricks and mortar facilities on campus. In order to make sure that all students are fairly served, schools are looking for opportunities to offer more services and resources online, ranging from health information to pre-counseling prior to visits to practitioners.
MyStudentBody is one way to meet some of those needs, since it is available to students and parents that subscribe 24/7/365, but there are other options online that can also help students maintain and improve their health and wellness. I’d be very interested in hearing about some of your favorite resources, but I thought I’d share some of mine first. Today, I’ll focus on alcohol and substance use, but I also have some favorite go-to sites for information about primary prevention of sexual violence, body image, sexual health, mental health, and nutrition that I’ll post about soon.
College Drinking: Changing the Culture is a great starting place for someone who wants to learn about a lot of different approaches to reducing problems with drinking on campus. They provide materials for parents, students, and even college presidents and campus leaders, as well as information related to high school drinking prevention.
The American College Health Association (ACHA)‘s Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs/Substance Abuse portal is another great resource to check out. There’s a link to get you up to speed on their ATOD Coalition, as well as information about the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) and various ACHA-authored pamphlets that might be of interest to your students.
If you have a peer education group (or are thinking of starting one), then BACCHUS is a great resource to consider for both peer training materials and general pamphlets and outreach materials. They also sponsor regional and national conferences for peer educators, which can help motivate and inspire your peer educators to new heights.
I’d love to know what you think of these sites, or if you have other suggestions!
