Fourth Annual Trojan Sexual Health Report Card Ranks Access to Sexual Health Resources and Information at Major NCAA Colleges and Universities
PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — The state of sexual health information and resources at major American colleges and universities was revealed today with the release of the 2009 Trojan® Sexual Health Report Card. The yearly ranking, which measures access and availability of sexual health information and resources across 141 colleges and universities, rates the University of South Carolina number one in making such information available, besting last year’s number one seed Stanford University (2), followed by the University of Connecticut (3), Columbia University (4) and Florida Atlantic University (5).
According to independent research firm Sperling’s BestPlaces, which fielded the study, positive feedback from students, and resources offered by the University of South Carolina health center helped the school rise to the top. Since the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card’s inception four years ago, the Gamecocks have finished no worse than 11th in the country.
“What really impressed us about the University of South Carolina, and what helped the school’s ranking was the high levels of trust students put in the campus health center,” said Bert Sperling, President of Sperling’s BestPlaces. “In fact, trust played a pivotal role in this year’s findings with centers that had higher levels of trust in student polls, like South Carolina’s, tending to score much higher.”
On the other end of the spectrum, DePaul University (141) ranks last in this year’s rankings. Brigham Young University (137), Baylor University (138), Providence College (139) and St. John’s University (140) round out the bottom five.
“Our goal with this study is to increase awareness, spark conversation and get people talking about and advocating positively for sexual health on college campuses,” said Bruce Tetreault, Group Product Manager for Trojan Brand Condoms. “Access to information and resources is critical in allowing students to make informed decisions about their sexual health. We applaud those schools that make this information available to students.”
Schools that improved their rankings include the University of Louisiana-Monroe, which jumped 80 spots to finish at number 29, following a surge of positive student opinion poll responses.
Other big movers in this year’s survey include Dartmouth College (2008: 68; 2009: 19), East Carolina University (2008: 78; 2009: 34), San Diego State University (2008: 105; 2009: 33), and the University of Maryland (2008: 63; 2009: 12).
Report Card Rivalries
The Trojan Sexual Health Report Card analyzes the 141 colleges and universities in the major NCAA conferences, and adds new context to some of the more heated collegiate rivalries.
From a conference wide standpoint, Ivy League schools continued their dominance in the Report Card rankings this year, as the conference most known for its academic prowess saw Columbia, Brown and Cornell University all land in the top ten. This is the first time three Ivies have landed in the top ten since the Report Card was created, and helped contribute to the conference’s 2.98 overall GPA (out of a possible 4.0).
The Big Ten ranked second overall (2.88 GPA) followed by the SEC (2.75), Pac-10 (2.75), ACC (2.73), MAC (2.63), Big 12 (2.58), C-USA (2.51), Mountain West (2.45), Sun Belt (2.38), WAC (2.31) and the Big East (2.17).
Some key findings include:
• The University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma may have played a close BCS title game on the football field, but for sexual health resources, Florida ran up the score, coming in at 24th overall, compared to Oklahoma’s 81st place ranking.
• The UConn Huskies, who had a banner year for their men’s and women’s basketball teams, staked their place in the top ten for the second year in a row, as the school achieved a 3.38 GPA, springing them to number 3 in this year’s rankings.
• The University of Texas-Austin continued their conference dominance, as the Longhorns rank as the highest member from the Big 12, coming in at number 11. The Longhorns have cracked the top 20 of the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card two years in a row.
• Sunny forecast for the Sunshine State: Five Florida Schools rank in the top 50 of the Sexual Health Report Card this year: Florida Atlantic University, University of Florida, University of Central Florida, Florida International University and the University of South Florida.
Methodology
To develop this year’s rankings, researchers at Sperling’s BestPlaces analyzed data from campus health centers and student opinion polls across 13 separate categories. Based on this analysis, each category was assigned a letter grade and a cumulative GPA was calculated, based on a four point scale.
Sexual Health Report Card Categories:
1. Student opinion of health center
2. Health center hours of operation
3. Availability of patient drop-in vs. appointment only
4. Availability of separate sexual awareness program
5. Contraceptive availability and cost
6. Condom availability and cost
7. HIV testing, cost and locality (on- vs. off-campus)
8. Other STI testing, cost and locality (on- vs. off-campus)
9. Availability of anonymous advice via email / newspaper column
10. Existence of lecture / outreach programs
11. Existence of student peer groups
12. Availability of sexual assault programs
13. Website usability and 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.
“The Trojan Sexual Health Report Card is an important tool in understanding the availability of sexual health resources and information on campuses across the country,” added Tetreault. “The fact is, only one in three sex acts among singles involves a condom(1). It is our hope that these findings will empower students to advocate for change to ensure sexual health resources and information, including condoms, are consistently and universally available.”
Trojan 2GO®, a new condom two-pack in a thin, protective and discreet plastic case, is the latest innovation from the makers of Trojan Brand Condoms. The new product, which is designed to go anywhere and standup to purses, wallets, pockets and backpacks, is sold at the checkout counters of many drug and convenience retail locations, making it a must-have accessory for any sexually active college student.
Trojan 2GO® is sold for an average suggested retail price of $3.99.
For more information on these products and the Report Card findings, people can visit www.trojancondoms.com. Full Trojan Sexual Health Report Card results are available at the bottom of this release.
(1) Trojan IU Compliance Study 2009; data on file
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ABOUT SPERLING’S BESTPLACES
Bert Sperling has been helping people find their own “Best Place” to live, work and retire for more than 20 years. His firm, Sperling’s BestPlaces, puts facts in the hands of the public so they can make better decisions about best places to live, work, retire, play, or relocate. His bestselling books, Cities Ranked and Rated and Best Places to Raise Your Family, are published by John Wiley & Sons. More information about Bert and his work is available at www.bestplaces.net.
Contact:
Bjorn Trowery, Edelman. 212-704-4556, bjorn.trowery@edelman.com
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Allison Goldstein, Edelman. 212-704-4511, allison.goldstein@edelman.com
Complete Trojan Sexual Health Report Card Rankings
Overall Rankings
2009 2009 2008 School Conference
Overall rank rank
GPA
3.43 1 8 University of South Carolina SEC
3.40 2 1 Stanford University PAC 10
3.38 3 6 University of Connecticut Big East
3.24 4 2 Columbia University Ivy League
3.23 5 18 Florida Atlantic University Sun Belt
3.21 6 9 University of Georgia SEC
3.17 7 36 Michigan State University Big 10
3.17 8 3 Cornell University Ivy League
3.15 9 17 Brown University Ivy League
3.15 10 20 Duke University ACC
3.15 11 16 The University of Texas At Big 12
Austin
3.14 12 63 University of Maryland ACC
3.13 13 13 University of Michigan Big 10
3.12 14 26 University of Illinois Big 10
3.11 15 41 Yale University Ivy League
3.08 16 15 Oregon State University PAC 10
3.01 17 30 North Carolina State ACC
University
3.01 18 14 Pennsylvania State University Big 10
3.01 19 68 Dartmouth College Ivy League
3.00 20 7 West Virginia University Big East
2.98 21 42 University of Colorado Big 12
2.98 22 11 University of Oregon PAC 10
2.97 23 28 Ohio State University Big 10
2.95 24 47 University of Florida SEC
2.95 25 56 University of Central Florida C-USA
2.95 26 12 Louisiana State University SEC
2.94 27 38 Western Michigan University MAC
2.94 28 53 University of Virginia ACC
2.93 29 109 University of Louisiana At Sun Belt
Monroe
2.93 30 31 Ball State University MAC
2.92 31 4 University of Iowa Big 10
2.91 32 24 Mississippi State University SEC
2.90 33 105 San Diego State University Mountain West
2.88 34 78 East Carolina University C-USA
2.87 35 27 University of North Carolina ACC
2.85 36 75 Florida International Sun Belt
University
2.84 37 40 University of Southern PAC 10
California
2.82 38 55 University of Kentucky SEC
2.82 39 46 Colorado State University Mountain West
2.81 40 49 The University of Alabama SEC
2.80 41 51 University of California PAC 10
2.79 42 50 Northern Illinois University MAC
2.79 43 35 University of Wisconsin Big 10
2.79 44 79 Texas A&M University Big 12
2.78 45 21 University of Pennsylvania Ivy League
2.77 46 58 Washington State University PAC 10
2.76 47 84 Kansas State University Big 12
2.75 48 64 University of Missouri Big 12
2.74 49 22 Indiana University Big 10
2.73 50 66 University of South Florida Big East
2.73 51 33 Bowling Green State University MAC
2.72 52 32 Rutgers University Big East
2.72 53 34 Tulane University of Louisiana C-USA
2.71 54 5 University of Denver Sun Belt
2.71 55 45 Western Kentucky University Sun Belt
2.71 56 48 University of Kansas Big 12
2.70 57 76 University of New Mexico Mountain West
2.70 58 23 University of Minnesota Big 10
2.69 59 95 Miami University-Oxford MAC
2.69 61 83 California State WAC
University-Fresno
2.69 61 29 Princeton University Ivy League
2.68 62 25 Harvard University Ivy League
2.68 63 61 Ohio University MAC
2.67 64 n/a University of Nevada-Reno WAC
2.67 65 108 University of Mississippi SEC
2.67 66 101 Clemson University ACC
2.66 67 65 Rice University C-USA
2.65 68 44 University of Miami ACC
2.65 69 99 University of Louisville Big East
2.65 70 39 University of Arizona PAC 10
2.64 71 52 Virginia Tech ACC
2.64 72 70 Wake Forest University ACC
2.62 73 126 Indiana University-Purdue Independents
University-Indianapolis
2.62 74 62 Eastern Michigan University MAC
2.62 75 73 University of Pittsburgh Big East
2.61 76 19 Syracuse University Big East
2.61 77 54 Purdue University Big 10
2.60 78 69 University of Southern C-USA
Mississippi
2.60 79 88 Florida State University ACC
2.60 80 57 University of North Texas Sun Belt
2.59 81 92 University of Oklahoma Big 12
2.58 82 91 Southern Methodist University C-USA
2.58 83 10 University of Wyoming Mountain West
2.58 84 87 University of Memphis C-USA
2.56 85 59 University at Buffalo MAC
2.56 86 71 San Jose State University WAC
2.53 87 43 Georgia Tech ACC
2.53 88 90 Northwestern University Big 10
2.52 89 81 Central Michigan University MAC
2.52 90 123 Texas Tech University Big 12
2.52 91 74 University of Washington PAC 10
2.51 92 60 Kent State University MAC
2.50 93 85 University of Akron MAC
2.49 94 93 The University of Texas-Pan Independents
American
2.49 95 94 University of Houston C-USA
2.48 96 37 University of Nebraska Big 12
2.47 97 77 University of Nevada-Las Vegas Mountain West
2.47 98 102 Boise State University WAC
2.47 99 82 University of Tulsa C-USA
2.45 100 86 The University of Tennessee SEC
2.42 101 72 University of Arkansas Main SEC
Campus
2.38 102 110 Air Force Academy Mountain West
2.38 103 96 Iowa State University Big 12
2.36 104 100 University of Arkansas At Sun Belt
Little Rock
2.35 105 107 University of South Alabama Sun Belt
2.35 106 129 University of Cincinnati Big East
2.33 107 104 University of Utah Mountain West
2.30 108 111 University of Hawaii At Manoa WAC
2.29 109 121 New Mexico State University WAC
2.28 110 97 Utah State University WAC
2.28 111 67 Oklahoma State University Big 12
2.28 112 80 Vanderbilt University SEC
2.28 113 119 Arizona State University PAC 10
2.27 114 106 Texas Christian University Mountain West
2.26 115 89 The University of Texas At El C-USA
Paso
2.25 116 98 Middle Tennessee State Sun Belt
University
2.19 117 131 Utah Valley State College Independents
2.16 118 117 University of California-Los PAC 10
Angeles
2.14 119 115 Auburn University SEC
2.14 120 n/a The University of Alabama at C-USA
Birmingham
2.13 121 124 Georgetown University Big East
2.08 122 112 Savannah State University Independents
2.05 123 133 University of Toledo MAC
2.03 124 118 University of New Orleans Sun Belt
1.94 125 114 Villanova University Big East
1.93 126 127 Boston College ACC
1.93 127 120 Chicago State University Independents
1.92 128 113 University of Idaho WAC
1.90 129 130 Marquette University Big East
1.75 130 136 University of Notre Dame Big East
1.74 131 128 Marshall University C-USA
1.71 132 116 Troy State University Sun Belt
1.71 133 122 Seton Hall University Big East
1.64 134 135 Louisiana Tech University WAC
1.63 135 103 University of Louisiana At Sun Belt
Lafayette
1.58 136 125 Arkansas State University Sun Belt
1.57 137 132 Brigham Young University Mountain West
1.54 138 134 Baylor University Big 12
1.37 139 137 Providence College Big East
1.24 140 138 St. John’s University Big East
0.62 141 139 DePaul University Big East
CONTACT: Bjorn Trowery, +1-212-704-4556, bjorn.trowery@edelman.com or Allison Goldstein, +1-212-704-4511, allison.goldstein@edelman.com, both of Edelman |
