OU isn't making the grade when it comes to sexual health, falling 30 spots on Trojan's third annual Sexual Health Report Card.
A survey sponsored by Trojan brand condoms and conducted by Sperling's BestPlaces, an independent research firm, placed OU at 61 with a GPA of 2.95, dropping from last year's rank of 30 and a 3.18 GPA. The survey scores more than 130 colleges in 13 categories on sexual health resources and information available to students.
Bert Sperling, founder of Sperling's BestPlaces, said the company improved the survey this year by including student feedback, which hurt OU's score.
Of the 101 OU students surveyed, 69.3 percent found health services on campus trustworthy, while the average of all the universities surveyed was 72.2 percent.
Char Kopchick, director of Health Promotion, said the question fails to make the distinction between Health Promotions, a division of Student Affairs located in Baker University Center, and Student Health Services, operating out of Hudson Health Center.
Additionally, the below average hours of operation for Hudson brought OU's score down, Sperling said.
Revenue from the new WellBeing plan, an optional $40 fee that covers most co-payments, has allowed Student Health Services to extend Hudson's hours and this change was not accounted for in the surveys, Kopchick said.
The Health Promotions Web site does not allow for anonymous advice to students, which brought down the score this year and last, Sperling said.
Although Health Promotions would like to offer features such as an advice column on its Web site, the money isn't available, Kopchick said.
We do the best we can with the limited funding we have
she said.
Kopchick noted that the membership of the Latex League, a contraceptive distribution and information group, has increased 89 percent since last year. - she added.
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Emma Morehart
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The Latex League, a contraceptive distribution and information group, hosts sexual health seminars that demonstrate proper condom usage.
