Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Prevention Program (DAAPP)

Every other year, WCC produces a report and assessment on our Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Prevention Program (DAAPP).

This report was produced in 2020. The numbers below reflect the drug and alcohol incidents for students and employees that occurred during the time-period of this DAAPP review.

*Note: 4 of the 11 incidents are from reports from local police for events in 2015 but were not reported to the campus until 2017. The investigations into these four reports are ongoing.

No fatalities resulted from the above incidents.

Section 1: Statement of Results of Drug & Alcohol Awareness & Prevention Program (DAAPP) Review

WCC strives to ensure a safe environment for students, employees, and guests of the College. The numbers above reflect the drug and alcohol incidents for students and employees that occurred during the time-period of this DAAPP review. One year of prior data is also included for comparison purposes.

Student Incidents:

When an incident occurs, WCC’s first priority is the welfare of the student along with the safety of the campus community. A student incident for use, misuse, or abuse of drug, alcohol, or other substances results in a mandatory meeting with the appropriate administrator and the application of WCC’s student disciplinary process under Policy 4095 - Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct Code (SRRCC). Each student incident was properly investigated and addressed. It is the committee’s opinion that sanctions were applied consistently.

College actions after an incident of drug or alcohol use, misuse, or abuse include the following:

• Medical response if necessary
• Arranging transportation for individual to get home or arranging transport to medical
• Facility if necessary
• Follow-up meeting with the appropriate administrator
• Offering College counseling services for support
• Providing information on community resources for alcohol/substance abuse treatment
• Having a discussion on the negative consequences of alcohol/substance misuse
• Applying appropriate sanctions for the incident
  • First incident – warning
  • Second incident – separation from campus community

As noted, conduct sanctions are typically applied in a two-step process however, consideration is given for the severity of the incident, whether other misconduct occurred during the incident, and any other mitigating or aggravating factors. If separation from the campus community occurs - the student is typically required to successfully complete a recognized substance abuse program before being considered for re-enrollment.

Employee Incidents:

WCC experiences a relatively low incident of impairment. If a faculty or staff member is suspected of working under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the supervisor and a member of human resources will immediately locate the employee and remove them from the classroom or office. The supervisor and human resources will make an initial assessment, with the assistance of a Public Safety Officer, if needed. The employee is then transported to an offsite occupational health provider for testing. A full investigation is conducted as well as meetings held with the affected faculty/staff member, as well as a union representative (if required). The employee is offered assistance through the college’s Employee Assistance Program, and if enrolled in a college health plan, assistance offered through our health carriers. In addition, options for a leave of absence are reviewed. Sanctions are taken accordingly based on the results of the testing and actions.

Overview of Incidents:
During the review time-period, sanctions were applied as follows:

• 18 incidents resulted in a warning
• 8 incidents resulted in separation from the campus community
• 0 incidents remain under investigation with sanction pending
• 3 incident involved a non-current student
• The above sanctions are for drug and alcohol incidents only, the statistics for violations of the smoke-free campus policy are not included.

Section 2: Ongoing efforts for prevention and awareness

• The College is a smoke-free campus with a prescribed progressive discipline process.
• Employees and students annually receive the Required Reading on Drugs and Alcohol email through a system that tracks delivery to ensure all employees and students receive the email.
• The College’s new web site design assists with searching for information on drug/alcohol prevention and awareness information and related topics.
• The College’s Consumer Information web page links to the Required Reading on Drugs and Alcohol information page along with drug and alcohol awareness and prevention information.
• Review of Drug/Alcohol Free Campus policy with all new hired employees during the orientation process.
• Notification of Employee Assistance Program (EAP) telephone and webinar presentations available to employees.
• WCC’s Student Resource Center (SRC) has a table display for National Alcohol Awareness month.
  
• The SRC periodically distributes brochures and flyers (Welcome Day, Stress Reduction Day) on resources for individuals facing substance abuse.
• The SRC has an ongoing Wellness Campaign. One of the annual topics is on substance abuse prevention and resources for assistance.
• WCC’s Collegiate Recovery Program is dedicated to recovery services for student’s academic success and completion.
• Representatives from community substance abuse programs participate in periodic community resource fairs.
• The Chief of Public Safety provides a series of student safety presentations that include information on drug/alcohol abuse awareness and prevention as one of the topics.
• WCC Public Safety staff are trained in the use of Naloxone and have acquired additional supplies in response to the regional and national increase in overdoses.
• The College includes information on drug/alcohol awareness, prevention, and resources periodically on the monthly newsletter posted in all campus restroom stalls.
• The College offers the Campus Assistance Program (CAP) – an online and toll-free telephone counseling service available 24/7 for students similar to an EAP program for employees. Students can obtain drug/alcohol prevention and remediation assistance and information along with connection to local resources.

Section 3: WCC’s DAAPP Program Goals

• To increase awareness of drug/alcohol abuse and related problems to the campus community
• To reduce drug and alcohol abuse among members of the campus community.
• WCC is an institution committed to providing a safe and nourishing environment. WCC will seek to understand the cause(s) of abuse of drugs and alcohol along with monitoring the number of incidents in order to take action as needed.
• WCC will continue to work toward the lowest incident rate of drug alcohol abuse that it can.
• To continue reviewing student drug/alcohol incidents and the related conduct process for effectives and improvement in the process.
• WCC continues to seek improved relations with community agencies charged with substance abuse prevention and treatment.
• WCC continues to strive for improved methods of promotion for drug and alcohol abuse prevention strategies and treatment options to students and employees.
• WCC will conduct a biennial review of all activities for effectiveness. The next review must be conducted by April 1, 2022.

Section 4: 2020 Review and New Initiatives

After the DAAPP committee’s review of the statistics for the most recent review period – the committee concluded that the current ongoing efforts have been effective based on the decreased number of incidents. The Collegiate Recovery Program has been extremely successful and has had an increase in student participation since the creation of a permanent WCC position to lead the program. The College will continue its ongoing efforts for drug/alcohol use, misuse, and abuse prevention and awareness due to the effectiveness of the current programs and initiatives. New and continuing initiatives include:

• The College is re-implementing an employee wellness initiative focused primarily on healthy lifestyle and disease management, of which drug and alcohol misuse and abuse will be included.
• The College will continue to include periodic information on drug/alcohol awareness, prevention, and resources to stop on the monthly newsletter posted in all campus restroom stalls.
• The College will continue to provide information to new student orientation on the topic of drug/alcohol awareness and prevention and the Collegiate Recovery Program.