With a fresh intake of students just around the corner, many university and colleges across the UK will be preparing themselves for the booze-filled excesses that often come with students who are leaving home for the first time.

With Freshers’ Week and sports-club initiations a feature of many students’ first experiences at university, there can often be peer pressure to over indulge, and many students may ruin their university experience before the first week is over.

Along with alcohol abuse, there are other issues affecting campuses across the UK, including drugs and legal highs. For this reason staff at universities and colleges across the UK are prepared and can work with their students to make sure that they all have an enjoyable and safe experience - and know what to do if something does go wrong.

Several universities have approached Marshall E-Learning to see how training and development programmes can help with issues surrounding alcohol, drugs, and legal highs at universities.

The purpose of the induction is to introduce students to key concepts around alcohol and the effects of drinking upon health, including

• impact on the local environment - community and non-student neighbours for those living off-campusimpact on personal safety - risks of reckless behaviour, including contracting STDs
• case studies - including recent news of a death relating to a university sports-club initiation that went wrong
• tips and advice for mitigating the risks of over doing it – before, during and after students go out
• what students should do if they have overdone it
• resources and support information for students who wish to learn more.

To make the message as relevant to the learners as possible, the course includes real-life case studies and information for students on what to do if a friend or they have drunk too much or are having a bad time from having taken drugs.

David Marshall, Managing Director at Marshall E-Learning, explained why it’s important for universities to train their staff in alcohol and drug awareness. "The impact for students in taking this new course is that they will have greater levels of awareness and have more confidence in both spotting and dealing with suffering from alcohol or drug misuse. This leads to safer, more secure environments for both students directly affected by these issues, but also the surrounding student body and environment. While we all know that university can be a fun and exciting experience with new freedoms available for students, by being proactive in helping students understand the dangers of some forms of behaviour, they will have a rewarding and fruitful time at university."

Vincent King, Assistant Director of Commercial Services - Health, Safety and Environment at Brunel University, added, "With the NHS reporting that studies show students are more likely to drink and take drugs that the general population, we at Brunel University London recognize that these social issues are significant barriers to achievement of educational objectives. This new eLearning tool is seen as an innovative way to connect with students to inform them of the dangers to their health and academic studies."

As with all Marshall E-Learning programmes, the courses are highly customisable to an individual university’s specific circumstances and are designed to be engaging for students.

Throughout the course, there are relevant tips and strategies to help students enjoy a social night out without endangering others or themselves. The course is interactive, using elements such as quiz screens, scenarios, drag and drop, and matching pairs to create a more engaging learning environment.