All institutions of higher education are required by federal law to conduct a biennial review of campus alcohol and other drug programs and policies.
The 2012 Biennial Review Committee comprised of faculty, staff and students met from June-August 2012 to conduct the federally required biennial review. Two subcommittees also met through October to discuss the Consistency of Enforcement guidelines as well as the new Medical Amnesty Law.
The committee determined that the University of Michigan is in compliance with federal requirements for the University of Michigan Alcohol and Other Drug Policy for Students, Faculty and Staff. The policy document is annually distributed electronically to every student, faculty and staff member and is also included in the Annual Security Report & Annual Fire Safety Report. It is also linked in the mandatory online course required for all incoming first year and undergraduate transfer students, and is referenced in parent and student orientation materials.
The committee unanimously endorsed inclusion of language addressing the new Medical Amnesty provision and several other minor revisions to the policy. They also confirmed that all 2010 recommendations had been met.
The committee reviewed the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Program (AODPP) for program effectiveness and identified strengths and weaknesses in program components. The major strength identified is that the AODPP coordinates a comprehensive program that includes evidenced- based strategies that address individual, group, institution and community level issues. The major weaknesses identified are: the challenges of working in a decentralized environment and the continuing challenges of working towards culture change with at risk populations (Greeks, first year students, fan behavior, etc.).
Recommendations for continued improvement include:
- Continue to integrate the alcohol and other drug resources for faculty/staff on campus into the Biennial Review process.
- Continue to expand the Program Effectiveness review to include additional data from other AOD initiatives across campus in addition to the AODP Program (i.e. MHealthy, TAM)
- Continue to provide leadership and support for the Ann Arbor Campus-Community Coalition (A2C3).
- Collaborate with the Dean of Students Beyond the Diag program staff to provide prevention materials to landlords/landlord associations.
- Support the adoption of a bystander intervention program on campus to provide students with the skills needed to intervene in harmful behaviors that include alcohol and other drugs (AOD).
- Develop a plan for communicating and implementing the new Medical Amnesty Law.
For a complete report or more information, please contact Wolverine Wellness at [email protected] or 734-763-1320.
See a list of all report summaries at Biennial Review for Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act.