Yale Tops List as Most Sexually Healthy on Trojan Report Card

Yale Tops List as Most Sexually Healthy on Trojan Sexual Health Report Card

Many college students may be left ill-informed about safer sex and more at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancies because of a lack of access to information about sexual health and availability of condoms at some
schools, according to the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card -- released
today from the makers of Trojan brand condoms and Sperling's Best Places --
which is the first survey that grades the sexual health of colleges and
universities across the country and ranks them. Despite this, many schools
were found to do a good job of providing essential information about sexual
health to students, which put them at the top of the list.
Yale University, for example, received the only perfect score and was
found to have excellent resources for students. Yale also holds the annual
Sex Week at Yale (SWAY), which promotes open on-campus discussion of sex
and relationships, and makes information about sexual health easily
accessible online and through the student health center.
Other schools in the top 10 that were also shown to provide easily-
accessible sexual health resources to students were the University of Iowa
(#2), University of Michigan -- Ann Arbor (#3), Stanford University (#4),
Oregon State University (#5), Princeton University (#6), University of New
Hampshire (#7), Duke University (#8), Ohio State University(#9) and
University of Illinois (#10).
Schools at the bottom of the list were the University of Nevada (#91),
followed by University of Wyoming (#92), University of Louisville (#93),
Texas Tech University (#94), Clemson University (#95), University of
Memphis (#96), Oklahoma State University (#97), University of Utah (#98),
University of Notre Dame (#99), and Brigham Young University (#100).
The Trojan Sexual Health Report Card looked at 100 public and private
schools, at least one from every state. Sperling examined various criteria,
including resources about sexual health, the depth of information available
on the school's Web site and the availability of condoms on campus, to
determine a school's score, which was calculated in the same manner as a
student's grade point average.
"We live in a country with the highest rates of new STIs and unintended
pregnancies of any Western nation, and we applaud those schools that
provide fact-based, accurate and comprehensive information about sexual
health to all students," said Jim Daniels, Vice President Marketing for
Trojan condoms. "While we understand there are a variety of reasons some
schools do not provide these resources to students, we feel that
comprehensive education and access to information is the best way to ensure
people make smart decisions about protection should they choose to be
sexually active."
Bert Sperling looked at resources available to students in order to
determine the rankings. "In our research, we put ourselves in the place of
a student seeking information about sexual health, and we found it
difficult to find this type of information at a range of colleges
throughout the country," said Bert Sperling of Sperling's Best Places.
"There is an immense divide between those schools that offer comprehensive,
fact-based sexual health resources to students and provide a forum for
discussion of related topics, and those where, for a variety of reasons,
information is difficult to come by."
Key findings included:

* 93 percent of schools surveyed offer some type of STI testing to
students -- with 24 percent offering free testing on campus

* Only 32 percent of schools have a sex advice column online or in the
school paper

* With the exception of Oregon State University, which received a grade
of B, all schools in the top 10 received an A in the Web site category,
which measures ease of access to information about sexual health on the
school's website

* 76 percent of schools surveyed do not provide free condoms to students

* The average score for schools in the top 10 was 3.49, compared with
an average of .43 for schools in the bottom 10.
While the top and bottom 10 schools in the survey are regionally
diverse, the Northeast does show a slight edge over other regions:
* 20 percent of schools in the Northeast received a 3.0 score or better.

* 10.5 percent of schools in the Midwest received a 3.0 score or better.

* 10.3 percent of schools in the West received a 3.0 score or better.

* 7.4 percent of schools in the South received a 3.0 or better.

* Regional breakdown of schools: 29 schools from the West, 27 schools
from the South, 25 schools from the Northeast and 19 schools from the
Midwest.
"We know that 18 to 24-year-olds use condoms only for one in four sex
acts, and we believe that it is important for those who choose to be
sexually active and are at risk for STIs to understand the risks, and use a
condom for every sex act," said Daniels. "With this survey, we hope to
shine a light on the need for greater discussion about these issues, which
can help lead to lower rates of infection and unintended pregnancies."
This year in the United States, it is estimated that almost 19 million
people will be diagnosed with an STI, and there will be more than 3 million
unintended pregnancies. Currently, there are 65 million Americans living
with an incurable STI.
For more information about this survey, to find resources about sexual
health or to request a free sample, please visit http://www.trojancondoms.com.
About Trojan
Trojan brand condoms are America's #1 condom and have been trusted for
nearly 90 years. Trojan brand latex condoms are made from premium quality
latex to help reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases. Each condom is electronically tested to help ensure
reliability. There are over 29 varieties of Trojan brand condoms. More
Americans trust the Trojan brand than any other condom.
About Sperling's Best Places
For over 16 years, Bert Sperling has been analyzing data about people
and places and rating them for major publications. Sperling's concepts and
methodology have been the basis of numerous studies since 1985, when he
developed a software program named "Places, U.S.A." that allowed people to
enter their personal preferences to find their own best place. Today, his
company, Fast Forward, Inc. (the producer of BestPlaces.net) is responsible
for more "Best Places" studies and projects than any other organization.
His Web site, BestPlaces.net, provides accurate and up-to-date information
about demographics, preferences, and the selection of "Best Places" to
live, work, or retire, in a useful and entertaining format.
About The Trojan Sexual Health Report Card
100 colleges or universities were selected to be included in the
survey, with every state represented by at least one school. The schools
were chosen for their size and general level of familiarity to the public.
This survey represents 23 percent of total four-year undergraduate college
students in the United States and is representative of the college
population. Information was gathered over the course of three months --
February to May 2006. Each school received a score of 1-10 in each of seven
criteria, and then each of the numeric scores was then converted into a
letter grade, from which a score was calculated for each, in the same
manner a student's grade point average is computed. Criteria included:
Informative and helpful Web site; condom advice and availability;
contraception advice and availability; HIV & STD testing; sexual assault
counseling and services; advice column or Q&A feature for sexual issues or
relationships; counseling services, peer counseling, campus events, and
other outreach. In the event of a tie, these were decided by comparing the
grades in the individual categories, and the schools with the lowest grade
or grades that lose to the school with the same score. For example, a
school with a C as a lowest of the seven grades would rank above a school
with a D or F in one of its categories. In the event of a further tie, the
winner was determined by the best score in its web site. If web site scores
were identical, the winner was the school with the smaller enrollment, with
the idea that the smaller school achieves the same results with fewer
resources.
TROJAN SEXUAL HEALTH REPORT CARD RESULTS

Complete Rankings


Lect-
Advice ure,
HIV & Sexual column, out-
Condom Contra- STI assault Q&As reach
Rank School score Website avail. ception testing services programs
1 Yale
University 4.0 A A A A A A A

2 University
of Iowa 3.6 A A A A B A C

3 University of
Michigan-
Ann Arbor 3.6 A A A A B C A

4 Stanford
University 3.6 A A A A A D A

5 Oregon State
University 3.4 B A A C A A B

6 Princeton
University 3.4 A A A C A C A

7 University of
New Hampshire 3.4 A A A C A C A

8 Duke
University 3.4 A A A A A F A

9 Ohio State
University 3.3 A C A A B C A



10 University
of Illinois
At Urbana-
Champaign 3.1 A A A A B F B


11 University of
South
Carolina-
Columbia 3.0 B A A A B F B

12 New York
University 3.0 A A A C B F A

13 Rutgers
University-
New Brunswick 2.9 B F A B A A C

14 University of
North Carolina
At
Chapel Hill 2.7 B F A C B B A

15 Pennsylvania
State
University 2.7 B F A A C B B

16 George
Washington
University 2.7 A F A C C A B

17 University of
Arizona 2.7 A F C C A A B

18 Johns Hopkins
University 2.7 B A A A C F C

19 University of
Nevada-
Las Vegas 2.7 C A C A B F A

20 Syracuse
University 2.7 A F A A B D B

21 University
of Wisconsin-
Madison 2.7 A A A A C F D

22 University of
Rhode Island 2.6 B A C C C C B

23 Colorado State
University 2.6 A F C C B A B

24 University of
Alaska
Anchorage 2.6 B F A A B C C

25 University of
Georgia 2.6 A F A C C A C


26 University
of Nebraska
At Lincoln 2.6 B F A A B F A

27 University of
Cincinnati 2.4 B A D C C C B

28 University of
Kentucky 2.4 B A C C B F B


29 University
of Southern
California 2.4 B F A C B C B

30 Louisiana
State
University
A&M 2.4 B F C C B A B

31 University
of Southern
Mississippi 2.4 C F A C B B B


32 University of
Colorado At
Boulder 2.4 C F A A C C B

33 University of
Vermont 2.4 B F A F B A B

34 Michigan State
University 2.4 B F A A C F A

35 Montana State
University-
Bozeman 2.3 A F C C B C B

36 University of
Oklahoma
Norman
Campus 2.3 B F A C C B C

37 North Carolina
State
University
At Raleigh 2.3 A F A C C C C

38 Washington
University
in St. Louis 2.3 B F A C A F B

39 Texas A&M
University 2.3 D A A A B F F

40 University of
California-
Berkeley 2.1 A F C C B C C

41 University of
Virginia 2.1 B F B B C B D
42 University of
Missouri-
Columbia 2.1 B A D D B F B

43 Harvard
University 2.1 B F A C B F B

44 Brown
University 2.1 B F A A C F C

45 University of
Hawaii
At Manoa 2.1 C F A A B F C

46 Virginia
Polytechnic 2.1 C F A A B F C

47 New Mexico
State
University 2.1 F A A B C F C

48 Boise State
University 2.0 B F C C B C C

49 University of
Florida 2.0 C F A D C C B

50 University of
Connecticut 2.0 D A A C C F D

51 Georgia State
University 2.0 D A A C D F C

52 SUNY At Buffalo 2.0 C F A A C F C

53 The University
of Texas-
Austin 2.0 B F C A A D F

54 University of
Minnesota-Twin
Cities 2.0 B F F A B F A

55 University of
Miami 1.9 C F A C C C D

56 Indiana
University-
Bloomington 1.9 B F A C D C D

57 University of
Washington-
Seattle
Campus 1.9 C F A B C D D

58 Howard
University 1.9 B F C C B F B

59 Purdue
University 1.9 C F A C B F C

60 Kansas State
University 1.9 B F A C B F D

61 University of
Maryland-
College
Park 1.7 C F A C C F C

62 Washington
State
University 1.7 B F D B B F C

63 Dartmouth
College 1.7 C F A C B F D

64 Auburn
University 1.7 C F A C B F D

65 University of
Pittsburgh 1.6 C F C C C D C

66 George Mason
University 1.6 C F C A D F C

67 West Virginia
University 1.6 D F A C B F D

68 University of
California-
Los
Angeles 1.4 C F C B C F D

69 Iowa State
University 1.4 D F C A D F C

70 Arizona State
University-
Tempe
Campus 1.4 D F A C C F D

71 The University
of Alabama 1.3 D F C D D C C

72 University of
Massachusetts-
Amherst 1.3 D F C C C F C

73 Boston
University 1.3 D F C C C F C

74 Mississippi
State
University 1.3 D F D D B F B

75 University of
Delaware 1.3 C F A D D F D

76 University of
Arkansas 1.3 D F A C D F D

77 University of
Oregon 1.3 D F A C D F D

78 Texas
Christian 1.1 C F C D D F C

79 University of
Kansas 1.1 C F C C D F D

80 Georgetown
University 1.1 D C C C D F F

81 University of
Mississippi 1.1 D F C C C F D

82 South Dakota
State
University 1.1 D F D B C F D

83 Florida State
University 1.1 C F C C C F F

84 Marquette
University 1.1 D F F C B F C

85 University of
North Dakota 1.1 D F F A F D C

86 University of
New Mexico 1.0 C F D C D F D

87 Temple
University 1.0 D F C D C F D

88 The University
of Tennessee 1.0 D F D B D F D

89 University of
Maine 0.9 D F C D D F D

90 Minnesota
State
University-
Mankato 0.9 D F D C D F D

91 University of
Nevada-Reno 0.9 D F D C D F D

92 University of
Wyoming 0.9 D F D B F F D

93 University of
Louisville 0.7 D F F C D F D

94 Texas Tech 0.7 D F F F C F C

95 Clemson
University 0.6 D F D F D F D

96 University of
Memphis 0.3 D F F F F D F

97 Oklahoma State
University 0.1 F F F F D F F

98 University
of Utah 0.1 F F F F F F D

99 University of
Notre Dame 0.0 F F F F F F F

100 Brigham Young
University 0.0 F F F F F F F