New Study Demonstrates Efficacy of AlcoholEdu for College

NIAAA funds $2 million national study of leading online alcohol
prevention program
BOSTON--(Business Wire)--A new study published this month in the NASPA Journal suggests
that first-year students who complete AlcoholEdu for College, Outside
The Classroom's online alcohol prevention program, engage in heavy
drinking less frequently, suffer fewer alcohol-related consequences,
and have less positive expectations of drinking than do students who
have not taken the program. The study, conducted by Dr. Andrew F. Wall
of the University of Rochester, demonstrated that these results
persisted throughout much of the school year.

With the Wall study and other promising research in hand, the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has funded
a national control group study of AlcoholEdu for College that begins
this spring. The $2 million study, to be conducted by the Pacific
Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), will be looking at
differences in alcohol-related outcomes between college campuses that
require AlcoholEdu for College of all freshmen and those that do not.
PIRE's study will use a multi-campus experimental design: 15 schools
will serve as intervention sites, and 15 schools will serve as control
sites. The study will run through the spring of 2010.

"I've long supported the idea of universal alcohol education for
first-year college students, and Dr. Wall's evaluation of AlcoholEdu
for College is extremely encouraging," said Dr. William DeJong,
Director of Program Research and Development at Outside The Classroom
and a professor of social and behavior sciences at the Boston
University School of Public Health (BUSPH). "AlcoholEdu can become
like taking the SAT and writing a personal essay for the admissions
application - just something students have to do before going to
college."

AlcoholEdu for College is a science-based program designed to
educate students on the risks associated with alcohol consumption.
Student perceptions about drinking are challenged by research-based
insights in order to promote changes in student expectations about
alcohol and enable students to make safer, healthier decisions.
AlcoholEdu for College is personalized to each student based on past
drinking patterns, gender, and current perceptions about alcohol.

The best implementation strategy is for a college's entire
first-year class to take the course, what the company calls
Population-Level Prevention(R). Outside The Classroom continuously
evaluates the program, which has already built a strong track record
of effectiveness in changing students' alcohol-related attitudes and
behaviors. AlcoholEdu for College is used on more than 500 college
campuses and has been taken by more than 1.3 million college students.
The course will be taken by approximately 25% of all freshmen in the
2007-08 academic year.

"NIAAA's funding of the PIRE study is a clear vote of confidence
in AlcoholEdu for College," said Brandon Busteed, Founder and CEO of
Outside The Classroom. "We welcome this new external evaluation and
look forward to its results, especially given that AlcoholEdu is the
most widely used prevention program in higher education."

About Outside The Classroom

The leader in online prevention, Outside The Classroom has spent
seven years focused on tackling high-risk drinking and related
epidemic-level health issues by delivering programs and services
designed for population-level application. The company offers a
variety of programs, including AlcoholEdu, SexualAssaultEdu(TM), and
MentalHealthEdu, developed for students, parents, and higher education
faculty and staff. All of Outside The Classroom's programs take a
non-opinionated, science- and evidence-based approach, helping to
support safe and healthy campus communities. Led by William DeJong,
Ph.D., the company's development team includes prevention
professionals, assessment and evaluation experts, experienced
educators, and leading scientists. Outside The Classroom collaborates
with many prominent organizations, including the National Association
of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD).

Outside The Classroom, Inc.
Erika Tower, 877-338-5001, ext. 137
Director of Communications and Marketing

Copyright Business Wire 2008