Background:
In an effort to learn more about the health- and wellness-related behaviors of LU students, LU Health and Counseling Services is joining forces with the American College Health Association (ACHA) to implement the National Collegiate Health Assessment (NCHA-Web) on our campus.
Information about the survey:
Between the dates of May 4th and 25th all degree-seeking LU students who are at least 18 years old will be sent a letter of invitation from Nancy Truesdell, Dean of Students; Kathleen Fuchs, Director of Counseling Services, and Susan Muenster, Director of Health Services via an e-mail from ACHA. The letter will provide information about the survey and will act as a consent form. Students choosing to take the survey can consent to do so by clicking on the link provided to them at the bottom of the letter. Students can choose to answer all of the questions, some of them, or opt out of taking the survey at all.
The NCHA-Web survey is taken via the Internet and it is estimated to take 20-30 minutes to fill out in its entirety. Students will be sent two e-mail reminders over the course of the survey dates encouraging them to take the survey if they have not already done so.
Goals of the survey:
1. To develop a baseline understanding of the health- and wellness-related habits, behaviors, and perceptions of students across a wide range of topics, including:
- alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use
- sexual health
- weight, nutrition, and exercise
- mental health
- injury prevention, personal safety, and violence
2. To use the data in order to enhance campus wide health promotion and prevention services.
Confidentiality:
Students who choose to answer questions on the survey will need to click on the link in the letter of invitation to provide their consent to take the survey. Imbedded in each individual link is an ID number used to track the student’s participation without using his or her name. At ACHA, the student’s ID number and answers are kept separate so there is no way to match a student and his or her individual responses. Participation is monitored via a computer program so follow up reminders can be sent to those students who have not completed the survey. When the survey period ends, ACHA destroys its list of ID numbers before any data is returned to Lawrence.
Safeguards:
Because of the sensitive nature of some of the questions being asked of participants, it may be helpful to have a better understanding of the safeguards in place to better insure a safe research environment:
- The NCHA-Web survey project was reviewed and approved by Lawrence University’s Institutional Review Board.
- As mentioned in the section on confidentiality above, the survey responses will never be associated with personally identifiable information.
- The data from the survey is collected off-site by a secure server monitored by ACHA. Only when data are compiled and all ID information is destroyed is the data returned to the LU campus.
- Students may choose to complete all, some, or none of the questions.
- Students will be given information about local resources in the letter of invitation. These resources include contacting Lawrence University Counseling Services at x6574 or 920-832-6574 to meet with a counselor or contacting Paul Valencic, Assistant Director of Counseling Services/Alcohol Education Coordinator with comments or questions at paul.j.valencic@lawrence.edu or x6574.
How do I enter the drawing for a $75 gift card for Best Buy and $50 and $25 Conkey’s Gift Certificates?
All students who click on the consent link are eligible for the drawing. Following the survey administration, ACHA will provide us with the IDs of randomly drawn participants who have won the prizes. It is important to remember that your name will in no way be connected to your answers to the survey. We will be contacting the winners following the end of the survey administration period.
To learn more about the NCHA-Web, go to www.acha.org/projects_programs/assessment.cfm.
