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Outside The Classroom Releases Enhanced AlcoholEdu® Prevention Program

7/13/2005

Online program features new case-based learning opportunities, expanded customization, and improved user experience

BOSTON, MA - July 13, 2005 - Outside The Classroom today announced the latest version of AlcoholEdu for College, the company's online alcohol prevention program designed to help college students make safer, healthier decisions about drinking. The new version of AlcoholEdu for College includes features that improve the user experience while enhancing the program's demonstrated effectiveness. The company used the latest scientific knowledge about alcohol, learning research, and prevention theory and practice - as well as feedback from hundreds of thousands of students and data collected through previous versions of AlcoholEdu - to develop this new version.

Available today, AlcoholEdu for College now includes:

  • A new course structure that allows for increased integration of key themes and messages throughout the course and a more robust 30-day-delayed final chapter.
  • Enhanced personalized feedback throughout the program.
  • A multi-segment video case study that offers students the opportunity to use realistic scenarios to learn and practice skills that can be applied in their own lives.
  • Additional customization in later chapters based on students' progression through the stages of change to motivate more students to adopt healthy and safe behaviors.
  • An improved user experience, including both "test out" and "opt-out" opportunities that acknowledge students' previous knowledge and allow them to choose whether or not to review specific, non-compulsory content.
  • Redesigned survey structure to elicit the most useful and reliable data possible.

"By linking learning research with student feedback, we have developed a version of AlcoholEdu that is even more engaging and effective than ever before," Outside The Classroom Vice President for Prevention Programs Richard P. Keeling, MD, said. "AlcoholEdu for College brings together proven best practices in alcohol prevention while presenting a satisfying experience for students."

AlcoholEdu for College is a science-based, online prevention program used on more than 450 college campuses nationwide. Designed to be used with an entire population of students, a model known as Population-Level Prevention®, AlcoholEdu for College challenges students' expectations around alcohol and enables them to make safer, healthier decisions. The program is personalized to each student's drinking patterns and sex, providing a highly relevant experience; now, additional customization mid-way through the program responds to students' level of motivation to change behavior, as well.

This year's enhancements will also be applied to AlcoholEdu for Sanctions, a secondary prevention program designed specifically for students who already have violated campus alcohol policies.

An independent, third-party study of AlcoholEdu for College released in May 2005 found that students who had completed the program had 50 percent fewer negative health, social, and academic consequences related to drinking than students who had not completed the program at the same time. The study, which included more than 23,000 students, was conducted by Andrew Wall, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"Since day one, Outside The Classroom has been committed to providing an unparalleled standard of excellence in everything it does," Outside The Classroom Founder and CEO Brandon Busteed said. "We strive to provide a partnership with our customers that helps them reach their prevention goals effectively and efficiently. We are confident that AlcoholEdu for College is making a difference on America's college campuses and are proud to be part of this effort."

About Outside The Classroom
Outside The Classroom is the leading provider of online alcohol prevention programs and offers courses for college and high school students. The AlcoholEdu development team is led by Richard P. Keeling, MD, Vice President for Prevention Programs, and includes prevention professionals, assessment and evaluation experts, experienced educators, and leading scientists, including distinguished neuropsychologists and brain researchers Scott Swartzwelder, Ph.D., and Aaron White, Ph.D., of Duke University Medical Center. Outside The Classroom collaborates with many prominent organizations, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).