Alcohol and Drug Education

BASICS and CASECS

Penn State students who have a substance use misconduct violation, a violation of state or federal law, or a substance-related emergency visit to a local hospital are required to complete applicable educational action plans:

  • BASICS: Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students
  • CASECS: Cannabis Screening and Education for College Students

These action plans are assigned by the Penn State Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response and designed to help students educate themselves and reduce risks.

Expectations

The BASICS and CASECS programs each consist of two individual one-hour sessions held via Zoom with trained facilitators.

The sessions will help students:

  • explore their substance use in a non-judgmental setting
  • reduce risky behavior and the harmful consequences of alcohol abuse
  • identify changes that could help reduce risk
  • access important information and skills for risk reduction
  • take steps to educate themselves regarding alcohol use/abuse

How to Register

Students are required to register for BASICS or CASECS within two business days of receiving their action plan document. For each two-session BASICS and CASECS program, a $50 fee is required. This fee covers both one-hour sessions, and payment is required before the first session of each program. If you are assigned to both programs at different times, you will be required to pay separately for each at the time of the assignment.

To pay this fee, contact Penn State World Campus Student Affairs by sending an email to [email protected]. In the subject line of your email, please note for which program you are registering.

Failure to pay the program registration fee or complete the program will result in an academic hold that will prevent you from registering or adding courses for current and future semesters.

Resources

If you have questions, please contact Jen Toof at World Campus Student Affairs at [email protected].

The information you share during BASICS or CASECS sessions is confidential; however, we will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law. We may use and disclose health information about you when necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent that threat.

Students who are mandated to complete BASICS or CASECS will be asked to acknowledge a release of information statement that will allow staff to verify completion with the appropriate Penn State offices.