RI Colleges Get Sexual Health “Grades” from Trojan

Monday, October 24, 2011

GoLocalProv Health Team

sexual health

How smart is the sex at RI campuses? Trojan knows...

How sexually healthy are Rhode Island's college students? It depends where they go to school.

That's according to the new 2011 Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, which grades and ranks 140 national universities and colleges on the overall sexual health of its students. The good news? Brown University ranked a hot #4 nationally. The bad? Providence College is one of the worst institutions in the country, at #134.

Tops in healthy sex

The Ivy League dominated the Top 10 in 2011, lead by Columbia University, which took the #1 spot two years in a row. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign climbed a breathaking 62 spots to grab #2. Princeton University snagged #3 just ahead of Brown, and Oregon State University rounded out the top 5.

Bottom in healthy sex

Providence College, at #134, was just six spots from the very bottom of the rankings. No other New England schools placed in the bottom 10. The worst performer in 2011, at #140, was DePaul University, barely bested by Brigham Young University at #139.

What makes a college sexually healthy?

The well-known manufacturer of condoms worked with equally well-known Sperling's BestPlaces to asses the 140 major campuses drawn from conferences within the Bowl Championship Series, and beyond. Sperling's researchers rated accessibility of sexual health resources and information to students by looking at data via student health center representatives on services across 13 categories, including:

Student opinion of Health Center
Hours of operation
Allow drop-ins or require appointments for student scheduling
Separate sexual health awareness programs for students (e.g. Sex week, etc)
Contraceptive availability -- free or at cost
Condom availability -- free or at cost
HIV testing on-site (On/off campus, cost)
STI testing on-site (On/off campus, cost)
Anonymous advice for students available through center (via email, phone, text)
Lecture/outreach programs for sexual health issues
Student peer groups
Availability of sexual assault programs, resources or service
Website usability, functionality

"Schools that did well in this year's report card tended to score uniformly high across all categories, while those ranked towards the bottom were less consistent in category grades," said Sperling. (Students who would like to inform researchers of the positive changes they are making on campus can email Trojan at [email protected].)

For the entire rankings (and more information on Trojan condoms), go here.

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