University of Northern Colorado

The University of Northern Colorado’s program uses a campus and community coalition to coordinate local ordinances, enforcement efforts, and educational programs to provide the consistent message to students and the community that underage drinking is not acceptable.

A significant part of the university’s comprehensive program is a cooperative effort between the UNC Drug Prevention/Education Program and campus and local law enforcement agencies to enforce underage drinking laws. Offenders are charged under a municipal ordinance, which means that cases are heard by a local judge who takes them seriously and handles them in a timely fashion, requiring violators to pay fines, attend education classes, and perform community service. During summer orientation, incoming students are informed of the enforcement of underage drinking laws and policies and the consequences for violations. As students arrive on campus, door hangers in residence halls remind them of alcohol laws and policies and also list alcohol-free events on campus. During the early weeks of fall semester, teams of local and campus police patrol the off-campus neighborhoods where students live. When a team encounters a party where alcohol is being served to minors, they stop the party and cite the host.

After these policies were implemented, an on-campus survey indicated a 12 percent decrease in the incidence of heavy alcohol use and a 33 percent reduction in the percentage of students driving after drinking.