I. STUDENT SUPPORT/WELLNESS PROGRAMS MISSION STATEMENT

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1 BIENNIAL REVIEW Drug-Free Schools and Campuses FY13 (Fall 2012-Spring 2013) FY14 (Fall 2013-Spring 2014) Dakota State University 820 North Washington Avenue. Madison, SD Prepared by Nicole Bowen, Student Support/Wellness Counselor December 2014 REPORT OVERVIEW I. Student Support/Wellness Program Mission Statement II. Alcohol & Other Drug Policy... 2 Policy Application & Enforcement.. 2 University Sanctions & Student Support/Wellness Office Program Requirements...3 Policy Distribution Procedures... 4 Student Violations of AOD Policy during Reporting Period Considerations Regarding Policy & Student Violations 6 III. Student Support/Wellness Office Counseling Services... 6 Considerations regarding Counseling Services IV. Student Support/Wellness Office Other Programming 7 Student Success Center... 7 Presentations 7 Residence Life Trainings... 7 Programming... 7 Professional Development.. 8 V. Student Support/Wellness Office Program Strengths & Challenges Student Support/Wellness Program Strengths.. 8 Student Support/Wellness Program Challenges... 9 VI. Recommendations for Student Support/Wellness Program Revision & Improvement VII. Appendix: Online Copies of Student Handbooks Distributed to Students/Employees...10 Cc: Marcus Garstecki, Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Marysz Rames, Interim President Keith Bundy, Assistant Dean of Student Development/ADA Coordinator Nicole Bowen, Student Support/Wellness Counselor 1

2 I. STUDENT SUPPORT/WELLNESS PROGRAMS MISSION STATEMENT The Alcohol & Other Drug Office was founded in 1996 following a year of research and planning with student and staff focus groups. The mission of Dakota State University's Alcohol & Other Drug Office is: to develop and maintain a comprehensive system of resources - offering access to a full continuum of student based services - aimed at reducing the negative and harmful effects that alcohol and other drug use have on student persistence, retention and academic success. In FY10, Dakota State University s Alcohol and Other Drug Office expanded its mission to encompass an overall wellness approach with a larger focus on prevention education. The current prevention education addresses various topics such as driving under the influence, binge drinking, sexual responsibility, personal safety, and mental health. In May 2010, DSU Human Resources approved the change of office and counselor title to Student Support/Wellness Counselor in the Student Success Center. II. ALCOHOL AND OTHER DRUG POLICY AOD POLICY APPLICATION & ENFORCEMENT Dakota State University Alcohol & Other Drug (AOD) Policy is a 3-Strike Policy set by the South Dakota Board of Regents. The Alcohol and Other Drug Policy is contained within the Student Code of Conduct section of the Trojan Student Handbook published and distributed yearly to all DSU students. Dakota State University AOD Policy applies equally to both on-campus and off-campus student alcohol and other drug related violations. Over the years, questions have arisen on DSU's rationale for the application of AOD policy to off-campus student violations. Dakota State University policy application is based on the following: EDUCATION: As an educational institution, Dakota State University believes its duty to educate students extends beyond the academic classroom. ACCOUNTABILITY: Dakota State University is a small campus located within a small community - we have an institutional responsibility to the greater Madison, SD area in which we live and operate. EMPLOYABILITY: A majority of businesses within the industries our students will enter utilize extensive pre-employment background checks raising the potential impact that student alcohol and other drug related legal issues have on future employability. PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE: Extending enforcement off-campus allows Dakota State University AOD Policy to better mirror industry application of similar policy; therefore preparing our students for future employment. 2

3 SAVING STUDENT RESOURCES: Dakota State University contracts with area agencies to provide a wide-range of student AOD related services, resulting in a reduced student rate for many of the very services mandated by court sanctions as a result of the violation. The DSU Student Success Center offers comprehensive student prevention and intervention strategies. Intervention strategies increase in intensity based on the strikelevel and nature of the student violation. Dakota State University offers a full-continuum of services ranging from basic alcohol education to referrals for assessment and case management of formalized chemical dependency treatment. Combined with an effective Student Support Network and a community/campus-wide referral system, DSU s Student Success Center offers programs and services designed to meet a wide range of student need. UNIVERSITY SANCTIONS & STUDENT SUPPORT/WELLNESS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Policy guidelines allow for a combination of monetary fines, educational and/or treatment requirements and/or disciplinary probation based on the strike level of the violation. 2 nd and 3 rd level violations are Disciplinary Board level offenses. Student Success Center interventions and required directives increase in intensity based on strike level. All interventions are implemented with the goal of reducing recidivism rate. The Office of Student Development contracts yearly with Community Counseling Services for the delivery of services at reduced rates for students either referred and/or court mandated to receive them. SANCTIONS & AOD PROGRM REQUIREMENTS A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON-CAMPUS OFF-CAMPUS STRIKE 1 LEVEL University Fine $25.00 N/A INSIGHT $25.00 N/A Court Ordered Education N/A $ University assignment Possible N/A Driving Privileges N/A Possible loss 30 days STRIKE 2 LEVEL University Fine $ minimum $ minimum Court Ordered Education N/A $150.00* Disciplinary Probation Minimum 1 term Minimum 1 term University service Possible Possible Intensive Education 24 hours/$150.00* Possible/24 hours/$150.00* Chemical Assessment Probable/$75.00** Probable/$75.00** Outpatient Treatment Possible/cost varies Possible/cost varies 12-Step Attendance Optional Optional STRIKE 3 LEVEL 3

4 University Fine $ minimum $ minimum Court Ordered Education N/A Varies Disciplinary Action Probation/Suspension Probation/Suspension Chemical Assessment Probable/$75.00** Probable/$75.00** Outpatient Treatment Probable/cost varies Probable/cost varies 12-Step Attendance Optional Optional Inpatient Treatment Possible/cost varies Possible/cost varies ILLICIT DRUG OFFENSES Illicit Drug Possession automatic Disciplinary Board level offense. Illicit Drug Trafficking minimum Suspension, possible Expulsion. *Contract for services with Community Counseling Services (CCS) reduces the overall cost of the court-ordered 12-hour Alcohol Education for referred DSU students. The total cost of the course is $ Referred DSU students will pay $45.00 with the AOD program paying the remaining $ *Contract for services with CCS reduces the overall cost of the 16-hour Intensive Prevention Education for referred students. The total cost of the program is $ The AOD program pays $ with the student responsible for the remaining $ ** Contract for services with CCS reduces the cost of a Chemical Dependency Assessment to $ for referred students. AOD Program then pays $75.00 with the student responsible for the remaining $ *Contract for services with CCS reduces the overall cost of the court-ordered Driving Under the Influence (DUI) classes for referred students. The total cost of the program is $ The AOD program pays $75.00 with the student responsible for the remaining $ POLICY DISTRIBUTION PROCEDURES 1. The entire student handbook, including AOD policy and sanctions, has been available for access on the university website since Student Orientation. AOD policy is reviewed at Student Orientation each term. 3. Residence Hall Meetings. AOD policy is discussed in detail at both allhall and floor-only meetings the first two days of move-in. 4. GS 100. Reference to AOD policy and sanctions are included within the Freshman Success Seminar manual. Additionally, the Student Support/Wellness Counselor does presentations with other personnel to individual classrooms throughout the year. 5. Faculty & Staff. AOD policy and sanctions are distributed annually in the Faculty/Staff Handbook. STUDENT VIOLATIONS OF AOD POLICY during Reporting Period 4

5 There were a total of 99 student violations of the AOD Policy during the reporting period FY13 + FY14. TOTAL VIOLATIONS (99) FY13 35 Violations 30.0% FY14 83 Violations 70.0% Total 118 Violations 100.0% VIOLATION BY STRIKE LEVEL 1 st Strike % 2 nd Strike % 3 rd Strike % 4 th Strike 0 0.0% Total % VIOLATION BY TYPE Off-Campus % On-Campus % Total % OFF-CAMPUS VIOLATIONS BY TYPE Minor in Consumption % Driving Under Influence % Drug Possession % Common Nuisance % Total % TRENDS VIOLATIONS BY REPORTING PERIOD FY99 89, FY00 77: 166 FY01 74, FY02 62: 136 FY03 73, FY04 52: 125 FY05 49, FY06 49: 98 FY07 56, FY08 50: 106 FY09 56, FY10 40: 99 FY11-88, FY12 48: 136 FY13 35, FY14 83: 118 5

6 CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING POLICY AND STUDENT VIOLATIONS DURING REPORTING PERIOD The data interpretations below indicate that while some rates of student violations continue to improve; some do not. There is still much work to be done in the areas of both prevention and intervention. o The overall rate of student violations decreased since the last reporting period. o Student rate of repeat violations remains in 11-12% range. o Violations that occurred off campus decreased while DSU on-campus violations increased. o Student underage consumption rate increased while student DUI and Common Nuisance rates decreased since the last reporting period. The rate of drug possessions remained the same since the last reporting period. III. STUDENT SUCCESS CENTER - COUNSELING SERVICES DSU's Student Success Center offers student access to a full continuum of confidential, wellness, alcohol and other drug based services. Many of these services are provided "in-house" by our office at no charge to the student; other services are provided through direct referrals to outside service agencies and regional support networks. From basic alcohol and other drug education - to personal counseling - to screening and assessment - to formal chemical dependency treatment - to student support groups; Dakota State University's Wellness/Alcohol & Other Drug Office is equipped to deal with a wide range of student need. DSU's AOD Office contracts yearly with Community Counseling Services of Madison, SD to provide DSU students reduced rates on several mental health and alcohol and other drug related services. In addition to reduced rates for referred students, the Wellness/AOD Office pays a percentage of the cost for many of these services, further reducing student cost. This partnership, coupled with the fact that we extend enforcement of AOD policy off-campus, allows us the opportunity to raise the level of student awareness of important considerations related to AOD legal issues, while reducing the overall cost for many of the services mandated by the court as a result of the violation. CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING COUNSELING SERVICES Student self-referral for services continued to increase during the reporting period. This may be due to ever increasing program visibility on campus, combined with the successful outcomes of students utilizing services in the past. Providing lower service rates for referred students may also be having the desired effect of students viewing the AOD Office as a viable student resource rather than a punitive campus entity. 6

7 IV. ALCOHOL & OTHER DRUG OFFICE OTHER PROGRAMMING DURING REPORTING PERIOD. STUDENT SUCCESS CENTER. The Student Success Center, located in the lower level of the Trojan Student Center. Continued program assessment and evaluation are critical to success in reaching institutional student persistence and retention goals. For reasons many times outside the locus of our control, a seeming growing percentage of students are not properly positioned for academic success upon arriving on campus. Combined with a seeming shrinking timeline due to institutional and system-wide academic performance requirements, there was a significant increase in the demand for services and the resources (both human and technology) required to provide them. Retention rates of students within programs utilizing the Success Center such as the Academic Probation program continue to exceed overall institutional retention rates during the reporting period. PRESENTATIONS. Student Support/Wellness Counselor presented Student Support/Wellness related information to various classrooms and student groups. Residence Life Training. The Student Support/Wellness Counselor trained RA staff each semester. Topics included policy enforcement and procedures, available student resources, and training on relevant issues such as Acute Alcohol Intoxication: Signs, Symptoms, and Responses. The Student Support/Wellness Counselor will continue this training and include additional wellness information such as sexual responsibility. PROGRAMMING. Programming for the school year is unknown due to turn over in the position. The following programs were offered by the Student Support/Wellness program during the school year: o Student Health Fair Booth for Title IX information. Provided information on Title IX, as well and sexual health and violence. o Guest Speaker Will Davis. Will shares his stories and experiences after a devastating accident in which he accidently shot and killed his friend while drinking. Will discussed how everyone has choices and hopes we make wise ones. o Directions Directions is an education and intervention program developed for multiple alcohol and drug offenders. It focuses on motivations for use and goals for the future. Students referred to the program have had multiple alcohol violations in the halls and/or drug violations. Directions is based off the scientifically researched Choices program. 7

8 Professional Development. Student Support/Wellness Counselor attended the National NASPA Alcohol, Other Drug and Violence Prevention conference in January 2014 in San Diego, CA. Topics included prevention strategies, drug programming and reporting. V. AOD PROGRAM STRENGTHS & CHALLENGES PROGRAM STRENGTHS A refocused approach that is holistic, preventative, and harm-reducing. A strong institutional commitment and alignment to both the application and enforcement of AOD policy is demonstrating continued impact. Application of AOD Policy to include off-campus alcohol and other drug related violations offers the opportunity to engage students - offering not only assistance in completing any and all court required interventions, but also the opportunity to educate students on the potential negative impact continued legal problems could have on future employment opportunities. Though no control group exists to compare and measure the precise impact versus non-application of policy/student engagement, extending enforcement off-campus is undoubtedly having a positive impact on reducing the percentage of student repeat offenses. An intervention model (DIRECTIONS) that focuses on harm-reduction rather than total abstinence which opens the lines of communication between counselor and student in order to establish ways to reduce the risk for further personal, health, and/or legal consequences. Student Support/Wellness Office visibility and perception as viable resource as evidenced by the increased numbers of student self-reporting of policy violations both on-and-off-campus, as well as student self-referrals for services. A strong Student Affairs Office/Residence Life commitment to addressing alcohol and other drug use/abuse within halls as evidenced by: extensive residence life staff training in detection and intervention strategies; clearly stated, highly efficient and effective procedures for processing violations increasing the immediacy of university interventions; all-hall and floor-only meetings that clearly communicate university expectations related to policy enforcement and related sanctions; open lines of communication with the Wellness/AOD Office in referring potential student incidents that do not rise to the level of an official policy violation, yet threaten student persistence and/or retention. A high degree of communication and cooperation continues with the Madison Police Department and Lake County Court Services in case managing student 8

9 off-campus violations. This allows us to effectively team in the development and monitoring of intervention strategies designed to reduce repeat offenses. Cooperative relationship continues with Community Counseling Services in the case management of students requiring either court and/or university mandated services. Improved communication flows improved overall tracking. Our yearly contract for both mental health and AOD services has resulted in a substantial reduction in service costs for students. This continues to have a positive impact on student perception of university policy and Wellness/AOD Office viability. The AOD Program has developed the capacity and flexibility to implement program interventions based on individualized student need and/or degree of violation level severity. Student repeat offense rates continue to be low as a result. PROGRAM CHALLENGES Nationally, the research and statistics show that on most campuses, 20% of students do not drink at all, 20% have significant addiction issues, and 60% may not drink a lot but when they do, they participate in problem drinking behaviors such as binge drinking, driving under the influence, and unprotected sex. Currently, we have no data at Dakota State University to find out what our students are doing and therefore, have no solid evidence as to what direction programming should go, no statistics to provide to students (for example, research shows that Social Norm campaigns are very effective but we do not have the information to provide to our students), no evidence of how this subject may influence retention, and no benchmark in which to measure improvement. The Student Support/Wellness services as well as other services in the Student Development Office have not yet found an adequate way to measure the effectiveness of our services. With the lack of evidence for both NEED FOR SERVICES and for EFFECTIVENESS OF SERVICES, it is difficult to fully gain institutional support of current holistic and preventative efforts (i.e. faculty promoting events, etc.) Current Student Support/Wellness programming does not typically get a lot of attendance due to the content of many of the topics. It is sometimes a struggle to make such serious topics fun and entertaining AS WELL AS educational and informative. 9

10 VI. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REVISION AND IMPROVEMENT Continued effort in refocusing the Student Support/Wellness program to one that is holistic and preventative rather than one that is primarily AOD-focused and reactive. Continued increase in wellness and prevention programming. Add violence prevention programming to the initiatives of the program. Work with Human Resources on other offices across campus to provide a campus climate survey and identify trends for DSU students add employees. Continued development of Wellness/AOD Counselor s leadership capabilities, professional development, and continuing education. *Please note that while this report includes data from during the reporting period of Fall 2012-Spring 2014; however, because there was a staff change in the middle of this reporting period, the programming piece of this report typically only includes programming implemented by the current Student Support/Wellness Counselor. VII. Appendix Student Handbooks Distributed Online to Students & Employees during Reporting Period. 10