CORE SURVEY SUMMARY. PRE-POST COMPARISON FOR OPTIONS COURSE, FALL 2008
Introduction
The CORE Alcohol and Drug Survey was developed in the late 1980s by the US Department of Education
and advisors from several universities and colleges. The survey is used by universities and colleges to
determine the extent of substance use and abuse on their campuses. The survey is now administered by
the CORE Institute at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale (SIUC).
As part of a collaborative effort with the Office of the Dean of Students, the CORE Survey was utilized on
a pre and post test basis during the fall semester of the OPTIONS course, taught by John McGall. The
goal was to compare the frequency of alcohol and drug usage both prior to and after the course. (Note:
The CORE Survey was not utilized in a pre/post test format during the spring semester because the
Alcohol and Drug Education Program was running the CORE survey campus wide. Having students
complete the CORE twice would have invalidated the collected data).
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Results
A total of 18 students completed the CORE Survey pre and post
o 11 female students, 7 male students
o 1 freshman, 5 sophomores, 10 juniors, and 2 seniors
CORE Survey Results
o Total Respondents, N = 18
o Response to question, “At a party, would you rather have or not have drugs present.”
 Pre-survey result: 67% stated that they would not want drugs available at a
party.
 Post-survey result: 73% stated that they would not want drugs present at a
party.
o Response to question, “On average, how many drinks do you consume in a week?”
o Pre-survey result: 39% stated that they choose not to drink.
o Post-survey result: 45% stated that they choose not to drink.
Discussion
The majority of the questions assessed by the CORE pre and post tests remained stable and
similar from beginning to end of the OPTIONS class. Improvement was primarily noted in areas
related to drugs being present. Students remained relatively stable in relation to alcohol or
reported small increases in alcohol use combined with decreasing drug use.
Pre and Post CORE Survey Attitude Change Comparison, Question 1
Portrays how student attitudes changed towards the question, “At a party, would you rather have or not
have drugs present?”
Response to question, "Should drugs be available at a party?"
100%
90%
80%
70%
73%
Percentage of
students who
believe that
drugs should be
available
67%
60%
50%
40%
Percentage of
students who
believe that
drugs should
NOT be available
33%
27%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Pre-Test
Post-Test
Pre and Post CORE Survey Attitude Change Comparison, Question 2
Portrays how the students’ attitudes changed toward the question “On average, how many drinks do
you consume per week?”
Percentage of students who do not consume any alcoholic drinks per
week
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
39%
45%
10%
0%
Pre-Test
Post-test