2008 Woodie Awards
UNH ranked in top 10 for sexual health
Helen Hocknell
Issue date: 11/7/06 Section: News
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According to a recent study commissioned by Trojan Condoms, UNH ranks seventh out of 100 colleges and universities across the country in providing services essential to sexual health, including contraceptive advice and availability, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and peer counseling.
UMaine's rank? - 89th.
The study was conducted by Sperling's Best Places, a company that researches the demographics and other aspects of areas across the country and rates them for certain characteristics. Sperling's report was released in late September and is the first survey to rate the sexual health of colleges and universities nationwide.
At least one school was chosen from each state and all were given a score of 1-10 for each of seven criteria, which was then converted into a letter grade so an average score could be computed in the same way as a student's GPA. UNH received A's in five of the categories, but got C's for HIV and STD testing and for lack of an advice column. Our overall score came out to a 3.4.
Mary Mayhew, director of the Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Program (SHARPP), was pleased to hear about our A grade in the category of sexual assault services.
"That's fantastic!" she said excitedly. She attributed SHARPP's high marks to the program's longevity and "commitment to providing the best services."
"We are a program that has been around for a long time - since 1988 - a lot longer than many other programs," said Mayhew. Mayhew explained that UNH's SHARPP is one of very few crisis centers located directly on a college campus, adding "we get a lot of support from the administration." This may explain the lower scores in the sexual assault services category for other New England schools if students there are required to go off campus for help.
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