- The college provided information and distributed prevention resources to students at a campus and community resource fair, held in the beginning of the fall semester.
- The Student Services office developed a program that provided a platform for students to hear from faculty, staff, and the community regarding unplanned pregnancy and the impact on college persistence. This program allowed students the opportunity to hear and voice their “truth” on the matter which was eye-opening for all who participated. This program took place in the spring semester, using a virtual format.
- A Federally Funded program on campus provided grab and go informational materials for students regarding student success, which included pregnancy prevention resources and support service information.
- Registered Student Organizations were created to provide platforms for student discussion on obstacles to college persistence, which included pregnancy prevention.
The college continues to utilize mandatory orientations for all students taking six (6) or more hours at any of the three campuses – DeWitt, Helena – West Helena, and Stuttgart, at the beginning of each academic year. This approach provided an opportunity to have a captive audience. Orientation sessions were provided in the noon and evening hours to accommodate students’ schedules. The pregnancy prevention awareness sessions during orientation included:
1. Administering a survey asking if students had thought about the impact that pregnancy may have on their ability to begin, continue, or complete a college degree (at the beginning of the session).
2. Providing an overview of prevention and unplanned pregnancy statistics among older teens.
3. Showing the Pregnancy Prevention video.
4. A presentation by members of the local health departments (Phillips County and Arkansas County) describing the services they provide, including information on family planning, birth control, etc.
5. At the end of the pregnancy prevention awareness session, another survey was administered asking if the information provided in the presentation made them
think more about the impact of pregnancy on their education.
6. Additionally, brochures from the local health departments were included in each student's orientation packet, as well as a hand-out highlighting the Pregnancy
Prevention Video and links to the video, including a closed-caption option.
It is our belief that the outreach during orientation was successful as 491 students participated in the Fall 2020 mandatory orientation which included all three campuses. In the future, we plan on participating in any state-wide meeting regarding this matter in addition to collaborating with other colleges and universities to develop best practices that may be used to provide information to students regarding unplanned pregnancy prevention.
For more information, please contact:
Kimberley Johnson, Ed. D.
PCCUA Vice Chancellor for Student Services/Registrar
PO Box 785
Helena, AR 72342
870.338.6474, ext. 1235
Kjohnson@pccua.edu
For more information, please contact:
Kimberley Johnson, Ed. D.
PCCUA Vice Chancellor for Student Services/Registrar
PO Box 785
Helena, AR 72342
870.338.6474, ext. 1235
Kjohnson@pccua.edu