Columbia University Tops the Trojan® Sexual Health Report Card Rankings for the Second Year in a Row

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year in a row Columbia University tops the rankings in the annual Trojan Sexual Health Report Card, making it the only school in Report Card history to repeat at number one. The study, from the makers of Trojan® Brand Condoms and fielded by Sperling's BestPlaces, calls attention to the state of sexual health on campuses nationwide by ranking them according to accessibility of sexual health resources and information to students.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111019/NY89229)

Columbia continues to be a model of excellence when it comes to sexual health resources, earning perfect scores in categories such as HIV testing for students, contraceptive availability, as well as the newly implemented "Extra Credit" category, which incorporated student testimonials to gauge sentiment on campus.

"Columbia's focus on sexual health is a clear priority on-campus, supported whole-heartedly by the students, faculty and administration," said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling's BestPlaces. "The renowned 'Go Ask Alice!' website, coupled with more than 15 student health groups makes it no surprise that the university consistently tops the rankings."

Undergraduate Rankings:

In addition to Columbia's No. 1 seed, the Ivy League continued to dominate the rankings. Princeton University registered another impressive score, climbing from No. 8 to No. 3, while Brown University moved up from No. 5 to No. 4.  Rounding out the top five are two schools whose rankings improved dramatically -- the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign jumped 62 spots from last year to finish at No. 2, while Oregon State University ranked 5th after ranking 33rd in 2010. Illinois' jump can be largely attributed to a sexual health blog now listed on the university's resource page, while Oregon State's was spurred by a vastly improved advice column.  

Meanwhile, the bottom five consisted of some familiar names, as Seton Hall University (No. 137), Chicago State University (No. 138), Brigham Young University (No. 140) and DePaul University (No. 141) all returned to the bottom of the rankings for the second year in a row. The U.S. Air Force Academy saw a significant drop this year, finishing at No. 139 after placing 96th in 2010.

"Now in its sixth year, the Trojan Sexual Health Report Card continues to call attention to the importance of sexual health resources on campus and inspire students to take action into their own hands," said Bruce Tetreault, group product manager of Trojan sexual health products. "By taking innovative steps to provide access to sexual health information, schools like Columbia University are able to rank highly and, more importantly, provide this important information to students."

Rising Up the Ranks

This year's rankings saw a number of significant jumps, the largest coming from Texas A&M, which rose 73 spots from No. 110 to No. 37. Northwestern University continued their impressive climb up the Report Card rankings, achieving the No. 28 spot. This is the third consecutive year that the Wildcats have improved their ranking, moving up from 90th in 2008 to 88th in 2009 to 63rd in 2010. The improvement is attributed to Northwestern's extensive peer education programs that provide students with a wealth of information, events and workshops on sexual health.

Other notable jumps include the aforementioned University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which climbed 62 spots from No. 64 to No. 2, and Colorado State University from No. 64 to No. 7. In fact, all three Colorado schools -- Colorado State (from No. 64 to No. 7), University of Denver (from No. 74 to No. 31) and University of Colorado at Boulder (from No. 75 to No. 56) saw improvements in their rankings.

Report Card Rivalries:

The Trojan Sexual Health Report Card adds a new challenge to some of the more heated collegiate rivalries. Check them out below:

• New Big 10 member, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln may help bolster the conference's football prowess, but the Cornhuskers are lagging in the rankings. Nebraska is the conference's lowest ranking school at No. 84, 16 spots behind the University of Minnesota (No. 68).

• In the ACC, Duke University's two year run at the top of the conference came to an end, as their ranking (No. 50) was topped by a pair of in-state rivals, North Carolina State University (No. 21) and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (No. 25).  

• The University of Oklahoma and University of Alabama may be fighting head-to-head for football supremacy, but when it comes to sexual health information on campus, Alabama's got the Sooners beat, ranking at No. 38, compared to Oklahoma's 65.

Conference Bragging Rights:

With conferences in flux as schools shift memberships, there were some shake ups at the top of this year's conference rankings. After losing the title in 2010 for the first time in three years, the Ivy League regained supremacy in 2011 with an overall conference GPA of 3.13 (out of a possible 4.0). Their high score is thanks to five Ivy League schools (Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Yale and Cornell) making it into the top-twenty.

The Big Ten led in 2010, but slipped to number two with a 2.94 GPA, thanks in part to conference newcomer University of Nebraska bringing in the lowest individual GPA (2.45).

The Big Ten was followed by the newly adjusted Pac-12 (2.84), SEC (2.65), ACC (2.60), Big 12 (2.53), MAC (2.52), Conference USA (2.39), WAC (2.29), Mountain West (2.28), Sun Belt (2.23) and Big East (2.09).

Diagnosing the Sexual Health of Top Medical Schools

This year's Trojan Sexual Health Report Card featured some new analysis.  For the first time, it took a deeper look at medical schools, the institutions that will shape America's next wave of sexual health educators.  Of note, only three of America's top 10 medical schools(1) -- Columbia University, University of Washington Seattle Campus and Johns Hopkins -- had independent sexual health facilities for medical students.  

Rankings & Methodology

The Trojan Sexual Health Report Card is an annual ranking of the sexual health resources and information available to students on campuses nationwide. Independent research firm, Sperling's BestPlaces analyzes more than 140 major campuses drawn from conferences within the Bowl Championship Series and beyond. These schools include students representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Sperling's BestPlaces researchers collected extensive data via student health center representatives, along with follow-up secondary research on those centers and students on campus. Student health centers were graded on services across 13 separate categories, including the following:

1. Student opinion of Health Center
2. Hours of operation
3. Allow drop-ins or require appointments for student scheduling
4. Separate sexual health awareness programs for students (e.g. Sex week, etc)
5. Contraceptive availability -- free or at cost
6. Condom availability -- free or at cost
7. HIV testing on-site (On/off campus, cost)
8. STI testing on-site (On/off campus, cost)
9. Anonymous advice for students available through center (via email, phone, text)
10. Lecture/outreach programs for sexual health issues
11. Student peer groups
12. Availability of sexual assault programs, resources or service
13. Website usability, functionality

"Schools that did well in this year's report card tended to score uniformly high across all categories, while those ranked towards the bottom were less consistent in category grades," said Sperling. Students who would like to inform researchers of the positive changes they are making on campus can email Trojan at [email protected].

Trojan on Campus

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For more information on Trojan BareSkin™ and the report card findings, visit www.trojancondoms.com, or the Trojan Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/trojancondoms.

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ABOUT SPERLING'S BESTPLACES

Bert Sperling has been helping people find their own "Best Place" to live, work and retire for more than 20 years. His firm, Sperling's BestPlaces, puts facts in the hands of the public so they can make better decisions about best places to live, work, retire, play, or relocate. His bestselling books, Cities Ranked and Rated and Best Places to Raise Your Family, are published by John Wiley & Sons.  More information about Bert and his work is available at www.bestplaces.net.

(1) "Best Medical Schools: Research." U.S. News & World Report. 2011

SOURCE Trojan Condoms