Oct 09, 2015 06:12 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Lehigh University in Pennsylvania received the 2015 TIPS Award of Excellence for its alcohol training program.

Health Communications, Inc. (HCI), provider of the TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) Program, awarded Lehigh University and three other campuses the 2015 TIPS Award of Excellence this year.

Recipients of this award are chosen by an internal committee led by HCI President  & CEO  Adam Chafetz. Selection is based on the number of students certified as well as feedback from TIPS trainers, student participants, and community leaders.

"Lehigh University has worked tirelessly to make sure their students are safe. They have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to preventing the misuse of alcohol on their campus and in their community by training their student in the TIPS Program," Chafetz said.

Lehigh University first began using the TIPS for the University program in the 2014-2015 academic year. They began by targeting upperclass off-campus students. Additionally, five fraternities and sororities voluntarily elected to have all members participate in the program. As a result, 485 students participated in the program. Lehigh also invited a TIPS Master trainer to campus in the Spring of 2015 to train 11 university administrators so they would have on-campus facilitators.

Currently, Lehigh's Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (OFSA) requires 80 percent of affiliated sophomores to participate in the program. OFSA just wrapped up training for the 2015-2016 academic year.

 Over a period of six days, from Sept. 8 to Sept. 13, Lehigh University TIPS Trainers conducted 15 sessions resulting in 385 students successfully completing TIPS training. In all, more than 1,000 students have been certified in TIPS since implementing the program. 

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