Health Communications, Inc. (HCI), the providers of the TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) Program, is pleased to announce that Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas has been awarded the 2012 TIPS Award of Excellence. This is an award bestowed by Health Communication’s President & CEO, Adam Chafetz, and is chosen by an internal committee based on both volume of students certified and feedback from TIPS Trainers and student participants. There were nine (9) other campuses that received the award in 2012. According to Mr. Chafetz, “SMU has taken multiple approaches over the years to prevent students from misusing alcohol on and off campus. TIPS is proud to be one of many approaches that they have used. SMU has repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to preventing the misuse of alcohol on their campus and in their community by training their students in an effective alcohol education program”.

Southern Methodist University began implementing the TIPS for the University program in early 2007 through their Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Department. Since implementing the program, SMU has certified students across the university through Greek Life, Residence Life & Student Housing, and the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. As a result, SMU has certified thousands of students on how to identify someone who is misusing alcohol and, more importantly, on how to effectively and confidently step-in to prevent that follow student from hurting themselves or someone else.

TIPS for the University is a two-hour program that helps students make sound choices when faced with difficult decisions about alcohol use. Working together with other students and administrators at their college or university, students address drinking behaviors specific to their school and develop intervention techniques appropriate to their campus. All sessions are taught by certified TIPS trainers, using video and printed materials to facilitate discussion of the course content. TIPS for the University provides students with the knowledge and confidence necessary to reduce high-risk drinking behavior among their peers. More than 1,200 campuses nationwide have implemented TIPS for the University. In addition, the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), a project of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has recently recognized the TIPS for the University training program by awarding high marks for both the quality and effectiveness of the program. For more information, you can visit www.tipsuniversity.org.

(This story is by Trevor Estelle of Health Communications, Inc.)