How We Do It

The world of statistics, baseline data and comparative results is a fascinating one…

Okay, so that isn’t quite true, but statistics are at the heart of The Real Project. They make what we say actually mean something. Each year we conduct the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) survey to get our stats and, ultimately, deliver them back to you.

What is the NCHA?

The NCHA is a national, non-profit, research effort organized by the American College Health Association (ACHA) to assist health educators, counselors and administrators in collecting data about the health of their students.

Each spring, we receive a representative sample from the FSU Registrar’s office containing the names of 3,000 undergraduate students. Students within the sample are contacted by mail and notified of their selection to voluntarily participate in the NCHA survey. Several days later, students are contacted via their campus e-mail account and provided a user ID and password that will allow them access to ACHA’s secure website to take the online survey.

Baseline data from the 2002 National College Health Assessment Survey (NCHA) revealed that 49.4% of students surveyed reported having four or fewer drinks the last time they partied/socialized; however, their perception was that only 24.7% of their peers were drinking a similar amount. In addition, 17.3% reported abstaining from drinking, while they perceived that only 1% of their peers were abstaining.

From 2002 to 2011 there has been a 34.0% reduction in high-risk drinking (i.e., those having 5+ drinks during their last party or social occasion). Consequently, there has been a 34.2% increase in the number of students who report moderate drinking (i.e., 1-4 drinks), as well as a 33.5% increase in the number of students who report that they abstained from drinking during their last party or social occasion.