In the first semester since the program began, nearly 90 percent of UW-Madison students required to take a course on alcohol consumption safety found it beneficial, according to university health experts, though one participant disagreed.
The program, called Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention of College Students, requires students who go to detox or receive an underage drinking citation to attend an alcohol awareness seminar for which they pay up to $200.
Dr. Sarah Van Orman, the University Health Services Executive Director, said UHS distributed an evaluation to the 282 students who completed the program to gain feedback on the program's first semester.
In addition to the vast majority of students reporting the program to be "excellent" or "good," over half recommended all freshman take the course.
"So far, the evaluation looks really positive," Van Orman said. "We're seeing significant increases in the terms of [students'] knowledge of alcohol, and also about attitudes around high-risk drinking."
However, UW-Madison sophomore Kristina Olafson said the course did not provide any information she had not previously learned in high school.
"I think that getting a ticket in general was more effective than the class, since the class was just basically things I already knew," she said.
BASICS offers a group and individual setting. It requires first time or less-severe offenders to attend group seminars, and serious or repeat offenders to attend a one-on-one seminar with a counselor.
While Olafson said she enjoyed the discussion-based atmosphere of her group session, another student, who attended the individual session, said a group atmosphere would have hindered his experience.
"I liked the individual aspect because I feel like I was able to open up more to the counselor versus in a group. It would have been tougher to be myself in a group," said the student, who wished to remain anonymous.
Despite the program's benefits, Olafson and the other student agree the cost is a cause for concern. Unlike other universities at which BASICS is free, UW-Madison's program charges $70 for a group-based session and $200 for individual-based.
"You already have to pay the ticket and the ticket [is] enough," Olafson said. "It scared the crap out of me."
But according to Van Orman, the program's fee is necessary to compensate the counselors who run the class.
Looking to the future, Van Orman said there is room for improvement. She said UHS hopes to expand the course to include more freshmen and student organizations with a history of alcohol issues.
