UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – During the first six weeks of classes new students are more likely to encounter safety issues because their defenses are down, according to a 2010 study by the U.S. Department of Justice. Penn State is focused on providing a safe and healthy community for its students. This fall was the first time the University required all incoming first-year students under the age of 21 complete PSU AWARE, a confidential sexual assault awareness learning module, prior to arriving on campus.
“We used to have peer educators talk about sexual assault and its relationship with alcohol at the beginning of the year at FTCAP [First-Year Testing, Consulting and Advising Program],” said Audra Hixson, assistant director of the Center for Women Students. “In its place we created an online learning module, similar to PSU SAFE, Penn State’s online alcohol education program."
PSU AWARE, which takes about two hours to complete, educates students about sexual assault and sexual harassment awareness that will help them develop practical skills to keep themselves and their friends safe. Students first take a pre-test, which takes about 10 minutes to complete and is centered on attitudes and myths associated with sexual assault. The instructional module contains four scenarios to read, each taking 15 minutes to complete. Afterward, students take another 10-minute survey to show what they learned from the module. Hixson said students are not required to complete the program all at once; they can stop and restart the program, picking up from where they last left off.
While the PSU AWARE learning module has been available for students to take for a few years, Hixson said that this fall’s incoming first-year students were the first instructed to complete the program before coming to campus.
“Students who I’ve spoken to found it to be enlightening,” Hixson said. “Some told me they were surprised to learn what constitutes harassment or assault; they had no idea prior to taking the program. PSU AWARE helps them connect with some of the resources on campus so they don’t have to put up with inappropriate behavior.”
Hixson added that the program also made students more aware that their own behavior in certain circumstances is unacceptable. While Penn State’s Center for Women Students doesn’t yet have data on student responses from the survey, they do know that 13,000 students throughout the Commonwealth have completed the module.