Underage Alcohol & Drug Consumption: Is there a relationship to student retention ?

1. Underage Alcohol & Drug Consumption: Is there a relationship to student retention? Nichole Knutson knutsonn@mailbox.sc.edu Alisa Liggett ALISAC@mailbox.sc.edu

2. Rationale for Project • Increase in alcohol & drug use. • Increased importance on retention rates. • Reliance on institutional data to inform retention initiatives. • Research demonstrating a relationship between alcohol & use and retention is limited (Outside the Classroom Presentation, 2010).

3. Existing Research • Heavy alcohol use does not appear to have a strong effect on college students’ academic performance (Paschall & Freisthler, 2003). • Heavy drinking was found to predict attrition (Martinez, Sher& Wood, 2008).

4. AlcoholEdu, CORE, NCHA 2011/2012 Findings • When measured prior to their arrival to campus, students' drinking rates are above the national average. • When measured midway through the fall semester, 35% of South Carolina students reported drinking in a high-risk way.

5. Outside the Classroom/EverFi 2011 Action Plan • Programming D • Alcohol Policies C+ • Written, enforced, adjudicated • Critical Processes C • Data reliance, planning, policy review • Institutionalization/Overall C-

6. South Carolina students are most commonly drinking at off-campus residences or athletic events. • The most common drinking-related risk behaviors that students engage in are pregaming and doing shots. • The peak drinking days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

7. Charlotte Business JournalAug 22, 2012University of South Carolina on list of top 20 party schools "Schools on the 'Party Schools' list are those at which surveyed students' answers indicated a combination of: low personal daily study hours (outside of class), high usages of alcohol and drugs on campus and high popularity on campus for frats/sororities," the Princeton Review said on its website.

8. The Daily Gamecock – Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

9. The Daily Gamecock – Thursday, September 6, 2012

10. The Daily Gamecock – Monday, September 10, 2012

11. Research Question #1 Are first-time, full-time, freshmen students at the University of South Carolina in the fall 2010 cohort with alcohol and drug related conduct violations retained at the same rates as his/her peers?

12. Research Question #2 Does receiving an alcohol or drug-related violation in the first year impact a student’s GPA, as compared to his/her peers?

13. Terminology & Process • Incident Report • Violation • Conduct Process • Limitations (reporting criteria, lumping drug & alcohol in one category)

14. Research Design • Investigative study • Student conduct records for the fall 2010/spring 2011 academic year were used to identify the first-time, full-time, students who had received violations related to underage drinking and/or drug usage& matched to enrollment data.

15. Descriptive Analysis • Fall 2010 cohort, n = 4,423 • 742, or 16.8% of the first-year students had one or more alcohol and/or drug related conduct violations • 40% of violators were Greek Students • 40.1% = female violators • 59% = male violators

16. Findings RQ#1 • Are first-time, full-time, freshmen students at the University of South Carolina in the fall 2010 cohort with alcohol and/or drug related conduct violations retained at the same rates as his/her peers?

17. Retention Rates • Students with alcohol and/or drug-related violations = 89.9% • Student without alcohol and/or drug-related violations = 85.8%

18. Findings RQ#2 • Does receiving an alcohol or drug-related violation in the first year impact a student’s GPA, as compared to his/her peers?

19. First Semester GPA • Students with a conduct violation for underage alcohol and/or drug consumption earned slightly lower grades = 3.06 • Students without a violation = 3.27

20. First Year GPA • Students with a conduct violation for underage alcohol and/or drug consumption earned slightly lower grades = 3.01 • Students without a violation = 3.26

21. Implications for Policy & Practice • Fines • Game Day Ejections • Coalition Work • Campus Awareness • Culture Shift

22. Marketing Approach • Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support Causerie • Winter 2012 - Alcohol and the Carolina student • Included alcohol consumption data, university resources and suggestions for faculty

23. Marketing to students door hangers AlcoholEdu peer leaders Beer pong posters Facebook

24. Impact

25. Discussion • Why higher retention rates? • Why lower GPA’s? • Impacts on graduation? • Future research? • Transports vs. student usage? • Is underage alcohol and drug use a retention problem?

26. References http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/morning-edition/2012/08/usc-makes-list-of-top-20-party-schools.html Everfi.com Outside the Classroom Conference Presentation, 2010 NASPA Annual Conference. The impact on alcohol and student attrition Martinez, J.A., Sher, K.J. & Wood, P.K. (2008). Is heavy drinking really associated with attrition from college? The alcohol-attrition paradox. Psychology Addictive Behaviors, 22(3): 450-456. Paschall, M.J. & Freisthler, B. (2003). Does heavy drinking affect academic performance in college? Findings from a prospective study of high achievers. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant: 515-519.