The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has received a nearly $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand and refine programs designed to reduce alcohol consumption and binge drinking among PASSHE students.

The funds will be used to develop a systemwide strategic plan to attack the problem of alcohol abuse, which is considered one of the key public health issues facing colleges and universities today. The plan will provide direction and identify critical activities relative to each university’s needs.

“This is the culmination of quite a number of years’ work, to address these issues in a more coordinated and more meaningful fashion across the System,” said Dr. Doreen Tobin, vice president for student affairs at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, who has been instrumental in much of PASSHE’s past efforts.

California, East Stroudsburg, Indiana and Shippensburg Universities of Pennsylvania prepared the grant application with support from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). The PLCB and state Department of Health’s Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs will work with PASSHE on the new program.

The competitive grant was awarded as part of the federal government’s “Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities” programs. PASSHE will use the funds to support a plan to reduce alcohol consumption and binge drinking by students by 7 percent.

The 14 PASSHE universities have been working together for several years to develop programs that meet standards established by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol (NIAAA). The federal grant will be utilized to continue those efforts, with a goal of bringing all PASSHE universities up to NIAAA Tier 1 status. The key focus will be first-year, resident students.

PASSHE will expand use of the Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program, which several universities currently use. BASICS is a form of motivational interviewing that assists students in recognizing the need for behavior change relative to their use of alcohol. The NIAAA-endorsed program has been identified in the field of alcohol prevention, education and intervention as the most effective strategy that can be employed in addressing alcohol consumption among students.

Nearly three-fourths of PASSHE institutions have trained individuals on their campuses to employ BASICS. The grant from the Department of Education will allow the System to fully implement the program at all 14 universities.

Another goal for those working with the new federal grant will be to help students more accurately gauge alcohol use among their peers. An earlier PASSHE research project indicated that many students’ perceptions of alcohol use among their college classmates exaggerated such usage, possibly impacting their own decisions.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with approximately 115,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Approximately 454,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.