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DFSCA Biennial Report 22-23 and 23-24

Introduction

The following report was prepared by the Drug-Free Schools and Campus Communities Task Force (Taskforce) at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ (Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­) in order to meet the requirements of the Drug-Free Schools and Campus Communities Act. Section 22 of the Drug-Free Schools and Campus Communities Act Amendments of 1989 added section 1213 to the Higher Education Act, which requires institutions of higher education to adopt and implement a drug prevention program to prevent the unlawful possession, use or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students and employees.

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ is committed to protecting the safety, health and well-being of all students and employees. Alcohol and drug abuse pose a threat to the health and safety of students and employees and the security of our equipment and facilities. For these reasons, the university is committed to the elimination of illegal drug and/or alcohol use and abuse in the workplace.

The following campus united provided data for this report:

  • Vice President of Human Resources
  • Director of Student Counseling Center
  • Vice President of Student Affairs
  • Director of Student Conduct
  • Director of Residence Life
  • Dean of Students
  • Director of Security

Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Policy Review

There are several policies that cover substance use and abuse.

Policy Name Method of Distribution
Alcohol/Drug-Free Workplace Policy Emailed to employees and students annually through Human Resources (HR)
Student Standards and Policies: Alcohol Policy Reviewed during new student orientation, and information is shared with all students annually
Student Standards and Policies: Drug Policy Reviewed during new student orientation and information is shared with all students annually
Student Organization Manual: Alcohol Policy Shared each semester with students at organization procedures meetings
Greek Life Policies and Regulations: Alcohol Policy Shared each semester with students at Greek Life 101 and Town Hall

Annual Notification

An annual notification is sent to all employees and students that includes the following:

  1. Standards of conduct
  2. Legal penalties for unlawful possession or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol
  3. Health risks associated with AOD abuse
  4. AOD programs available to employees and students
  5. Disciplinary sanctions for violations of standards of conduct

Biennial Review

In order to certify its compliance with the Part 86 Regulations, an IHE (Institution of Higher Education) must adopt and implement a drug prevention program to prevent the unlawful possession, use or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by all students and employees both on school premises and as part of any of its activities. Creating a program that complies with the regulations requires an IHE to do the following:

  1.  (A) The annual distribution in writing to each employee, and to each student who is taking one or more classes for any type of academic credit except for continuing education units, regardless of the length of the student's program of study, of:
    • Standards of conduct that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the unlawful possession, use or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students and employees on its property or as part of any of its activities;
    • A description of the applicable legal sanctions under local, state or federal law for the unlawful possession or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol;
    • A description of the health risks associated with the use of illicit drugs and the abuse of alcohol;
    • A description of any drug or alcohol counseling, treatment or rehabilitation or re-entry programs that are available to employees or students; and
    • A clear statement that the IHE will impose disciplinary sanctions on students and employees (consistent with local, state, and federal law) and a description of those sanctions, up to and including expulsion or termination of employment and referral for prosecution, for violations of the standards of conduct required by paragraph (A)(1) of this section. For the purpose of this section, a disciplinary sanction may include the completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program.
  2. (B) A biennial review by the IHE of its program to:
    • Determine its effectiveness and implement changes to the program if they are needed; and
    • Ensure that the disciplinary sanctions described in paragraph (A)(5) of this sanction are consistently enforced

Current Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Programs and Interventions

Employees

The university uses a third party, Resources for Living, an AETNA company, to provide services to employees. The EAP program includes the following services:

  • Services are confidential and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
  • Six (6) professional counseling sessions per issue per year
  • Available to employees, household members and legal dependents who reside outside of the home up to age 26
  • Help available for a range of services including relationship support, stress management, work/life balance, family issues, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, substance misuse and self-esteem and personal development
  • Daily life assistance, including child care and home repair and maintenance
  • Management consultations
  • National provider network
  • Online resources such as articles, video resources, webinars, online apps (e.g., myStrength app), discount center, legal services, financial services and identity theft services.

Utilization 2022-2023

EAP Utilization Rate: 15.8%

Service Engagement APR '22 - MAR '23 YTD Prior YTD
Total covered employees 853 853 805
Annualized utilization rate 15.8% 15.8% 23.7%
Total member services requested 133 133 176
Total organizational services and participants 4 4 45

Employees Seeking Assistance with Substance Abuse: Zero (0)

Top Presenting Issues APR '22 - MAR '23 YTD Prior YTD
Other Member/Benefit Inquiry 19.5% 19.5% 19.9%
Anxiety 13.5% 13.5% 29.5%
Relationship: Marital/Significant Other 12.8% 12.8% 13.1%
Stress/Distress 9.8% 9.8% 8.5%
Legal 9.8% 9.8% 3.4%
Depressed Mood 6.8% 6.8% 8%
Undisclosed 6.8% 6.8% 0%
Trauma/PTSD 6% 6% 0%
Self Esteem/Personal Development 3% 3% 3.4%

Utilization 2023-2024

EAP Utilization Rate: 15.9%

Service Engagement Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 YTD
Total covered employees 780 805 917 910 853
Annualized utilization rate 23.1% 13.3% 13.8% 14.3% 15.9%
Total member services requested 44 27 32 31 134
Total organizational services and participants 1 1 0 2 4

Employees Seeking Assistance with Substance Abuse: Zero (0)

Top Presenting Issues Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 YTD Prior YTD
Other Member/Benefit Inquiry 20.5% 18.5% 12.5% 29% 20.1% 19.5%
Anxiety 9.1% 22.2% 9.4% 16.1% 13.4% 13.5%
Relationship: Marital/Significant Other 11.4% 11.1% 18.8% 12.9% 13.4% 12.8%
Stress/Distress 2.3% 18.5% 18.8% 3.2% 9.7% 9.8%
Legal 13.6% 7.4% 0% 16.1% 9.7% 9.8%
Depressed Mood 4.5% 7.4% 12.5% 3.2% 6.7% 6.8%
Trauma/PTSD 13.6% 0% 3.1% 3.2% 6% 6%
Undisclosed 9.1% 7.4% 0% 3.2% 5.2% 6.8%
Self Esteem/Personal Development 4.5% 0% 6.3% 0% 3% 3%
Grief/Loss 2.3% 3.7% 0% 6.5% 3% 2.3%

Students

The university offers large-scale programs and small-scale activities throughout the academic year to increase awareness and prevent alcohol and drug abuse on campus. Several campus units provide a variety of campus events each semester to allow students to improve their attitude, knowledge and behavior intentions about alcohol and drugs.

Student Counseling Center

The Student Counseling Center provides awareness, psychoeducation and resources throughout the academic year through a variety of outreach and consultation efforts. Also, the center provides counseling services to students free of charge for substance-related concerns, as well as connects students with other community resources for coordination and comprehensive care.

Student Life

Student Life provides training and programming to promote AOD awareness and prevention each semester to all student organization, club and club sports leaders during the organization training and education sessions. Additionally, AOD information is also provided to student leaders and members each semester and year round though emails and on Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Engage.

Orientation

Orientation provides educational programming during the new student orientation programs for first-year students, transfer students and graduate students during interactive sessions that include the Dean of Students learning session as well as Residence Life 101. These sessions are used to promote AOD awareness and prevention.

Residence Life

Residence Life provides educational programming to promote AOD awareness and prevention each year to all of our on-campus residents.

Type of Program 2022-2023 2023-2024
Social 18 18
Health promotion 19 19
Academics and career 16 16
Diversity 9 9
Life skills 3 3
Drugs and alcohol awareness 8 8
Sustainability 6 6
Title IX 1 1
TOTAL 80 80

Greek Life

Greek Life provides educational and values programming to promote AOD awareness and prevention each year to all members who are in a fraternity or sorority. Currently, that is 11% of the undergraduate population.

Type of Program 2022-2023 2023-2024
Alcohol awareness 5 5
Drug awareness 4 4
TOTAL 9 9

The following is a summary of student AOD violations for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years. There are more students found responsible for alcohol violations than drug violations, and most alcohol violations occur because of underage drinking. Our current alcohol and drug prevention programs specifically address this issue. There has been a decrease in the number of students found responsible for drug violations.

Alcohol and Drug Violations

2022-2023

Violation Not Responsible Responsible TOTAL
Alcohol violation 28 111 139
Controlled substance violation 19 42 61

2023-2024

Violation Responsible Not Responsible TOTAL
Alcohol violation 31 76 107
Controlled substance violation 9 29 38

Sanction Enforcement Consistency 2022-2023

Student Conduct reviews and publishes a summary of student conduct violations and a sanction summary each academic year for AOD. This annual review ensures the university enforces the disciplinary sanctions for violating standards of conduct consistently from year to year.

Alcohol

  • Fines - 8
  • Disciplinary Warning - 54
  • Disciplinary Probation - 23
  • Suspension in Abeyance - 2
  • Educational Programming - 61
  • Parental Notification - 47
  • Educational Sanctions - 24
  • Community Service - 6
  • Additional Sanctions - 3

Controlled Substances

  • Disciplinary Probation - 20
  • Educational Programming - 14
  • Parental Notification - 10
  • Additional Sanctions - 4

Sanction Enforcement Consistency 2023-2024

Alcohol

  • Fines - 8
  • Disciplinary Warning - 58
  • Disciplinary Probation - 48
  • Suspension in Abeyance - 5
  • Apology - 10
  • Parental Notification - 55
  • Community Service - 18
  • Educational Programming - 68
  • Poster - 10
  • Educational Sanctions - 20
  • Additional Sanctions - 5

Controlled Substances

  • Fines - 5
  • Disciplinary Probation - 38
  • Disciplinary Suspension - 8
  • Expulsion - 1
  • Removal from University - 1
  • Parental Notification - 18
  • Community Service - 12
  • Educational Programming - 22
  • Additional Sanctions - 8

Student Conduct

Student conduct uses the following education-based programs for students to comply with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA):

  • The Alcohol eCheckup To Go (e-CHUG) is an evidence-based, personalized online alcohol intervention designed by university counseling centers and psychologists
  • The Cannabis eCheckup To Go is an evidence-based, online prevention and intervention program designed to remove cannibas use among college students. It is designed to help motivate students to reduce their level of cannabis use using personalized information about their behavior and risk factors.

Students who have been found responsible for violating the alcohol and drug policy are required to complete the online prevention and intervention program.

2022-2023 Program Completion

eCheckup To Go - Alcohol

  • Sex
    • Male: 53% (35)
    • Female: 44% (19)
    • Non-Binary: 1% (1)
  • Student Affiliation
    • Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­: 100% (65)
  • Year Level
    • Freshman: 64% (42)
    • Sophomore: 24% (16)
    • Junior: 9% (6)
    • Senior: 1% (1)
  • Fraternity/Sorority Member
    • Yes: 20% (13)
    • No: 80% (52)
  • Student Athlete
    • Yes: 12% (8)
    • No: 87% (57)
  • Taking Prescription Medications
    • Yes: 32% (63)
    • No: 3% (2)
  • Live On Campus/In-Residence
    • Yes: 96% (63)
    • No: 3% (2)

eCheckup To Go - Marijuana

  • Sex
    • Male: 88% (22)
    • Female: 12% (3)
  • Student Affiliation
    • Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­: 100%
  • Year Level
    • Freshman: 52% (13)
    • Sophomore: 20% (5)
    • Junior: 16% (4)
    • Senior: 12% (3)
    • Not Applicable: 0% (0)
  • Fraternity/Sorority Member
    • Yes: 20% (5)
    • No: 80% (22)
  • Taking Prescription Medications
    • Yes: 20% (5)
    • No: 80% (20)
  • Live On Campus/In-Residence
    • Yes: 88% (22)
    • No: 12% (3)

2023-2024 Program Completion

eCheckup To Go - Alcohol

  • Sex
    • Male: 66% (52)
    • Female: 33% (26)
  • Student Affiliation
    • Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­: 100%
  • Year Level
    • Freshman: 56% (44)
    • Sophomore: 1% (4)
    • Junior: 28% (2)
    • Senior: 10% (8)
    • Not Applicable: 5% (4)
  • Fraternity/Sorority Member
    • Yes: 15% (12)
    • No: 85% (66)
  • Student Athlete
    • Yes: 1% (5)
    • No: 99% (73)
  • Taking Prescription Medications
    • Yes: 23% (18)
    • No: 77% (60)
  • Live On Campus/In-Residence
    • Yes: 81% (63)
    • No: 19% (15)

eCheckup To Go - Marijuana

  • Sex
    • Male: 92% (12)
    • Female: 7% (1)
  • Student Affiliation
    • Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­: 100%
  • Year Level
    • Freshman: 23% (3)
    • Sophomore: 23% (3)
    • Junior: 23% (3)
    • Senior: 30% (4)
    • Not Applicable: 0% (0)
  • Fraternity/Sorority Member
    • Yes: 100% (13)
    • No: 0% (0)
  • Student Athlete
    • Yes: 30% (4)
    • No: 69% (9)
  • Taking Prescription Medications
    • Yes: 7% (1)
    • No: 92% (12)
  • Live On Campus/In-Residence
    • Yes: 92% (12)
    • No: 7% (1)

Program Strengths

The AOD Prevention Program strengths include:

  • The university provides clear and comprehensive policies for students, faculty and staff regarding its alcohol and other drug policies and communicates the information annually to all
  • All university policies for students, faculty and staff are consistently reviewed annually
  • The university maintains accurate records of student violations and sanctioning processes. Policy enforcement and sanctioning is consistently implemented
  • Numerous events are hosted throughout the year by many different departments and areas. AOD prevention and education is a large focus of the campus
  • Strong and ongoing enhanced working relationships are maintained between Campus Security, Greek Life, Residence Life, Student Involvement and Student Counseling Center to ensure prevention awareness

Program Weaknesses

  • We are still working to obtain sufficient student response and longitudinal data to develop reliable trend date. However, we have continued to deploy an annual climate survey inquiring into these issues (rather than the standard bi-ennial campus climate survey) to advance this objective
  • While there is significant optional training opportunities through residential life, wellness, etc., there is no mandatory training from which to make evidence-based assessments that would be considered reliable

Program Recommendations

The AOD Prevention Program recommendations include:

  • Through the ACHA-National College Health Assessment II, the university will annually implement and analyze a survey to provide a comprehensive picture on student health behaviors and perceptions of health, and identify prevalent health issues on campus
  • Offering a comprehensive, education-based program to the campus community. Beginning fall 2020, the university has added the following AOD prevention and intervention program for students:
    • SafeColleges Training on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention are powerful, evidence-based courses that stimulate changes in students' attitudes and behaviors by presenting students with the many risks of abusing alcohol or drugs and detrimental effects that these can have on their lives. The list of courses is as follows: 
      • Alcohol and Other Drugs
      • Marijuana: What You Should Know
      • Prescription Addiction Suite: Opioids, Stimulants and Depressants
  • Expanding Biennial Review Committee to other campus units and the student population to address high-risk consumption in all student populations
  • Utilizing our efficient collaboration with Campus Security, improve partnership with Brevard County, Palm Bay Police and Melbourne Police to further increase awareness and educational opportunities for students
  • Continuing to review all policies and conduct standards to ensure uniformity across campus

Through all policies and reviews, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ meets all requirements as outlined in the DFSCA. However, the dissemination of information can be enhanced through comprehensive programming instead of programming completed in departmental silos.

Conclusion

The university organized a cross-departmental committee for the purpose of completing the biennial review of compliance with the DrugFree Schools and Communities Act and conducted that review in order to summarize and evaluate the effectiveness of the university’s programs and activities related to alcohol and drug prevention during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years.

After review, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ is in compliance with the requirements of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ has 
adopted and implemented programs to prevent the abuse of alcohol and use or distribution of illicit drugs by our students and employees. Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ is committed to protecting the safety, health and well-being of all students and employees and further is committed to the elimination of illegal drug and/or alcohol use and abuse in the workplace.