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The annual Trojan Sexual Health Report Card ranked K-State in the top 50 of 141 schools.
K-State finished 47th, beating the University of Kansas, which finished 56th. Texas (11), Colorado (21) and Texas A&M (44), were the only Big 12 schools to top K-State.
The annual report ranks schools based on access and availability of sexual health information and resources. The University of South Carolina finished at the top of the list. Stanford University, the University of Connecticut, Columbia University and Florida Atlantic University rounded out the top five.
According to the report, the goal is to increase awareness and spark conversation about sexual health on campus.
Bert Sperling, president of Sperling’s Best Places, which fielded the study, said it based the university ranks on what the students were saying about their sexual health knowledge.
“We contacted the schools, having students fill out questionnaires,” Sperling said. “Students can also get information from K-State’s Web site instead of walking into the school’s health centers.”
There are 13 report card categories, ranging from student opinion of the health center to availability of sexual assault programs. This year, not only were the categories used, but each one was assigned a letter grade and a cumulative grade point average was calculated. K-State received an overall 2.76 GPA, while the University of South Carolina received a cumulative 3.43.
K-State improved its placement by 36 spots from last year when it finished 84th.
“They made a significant improvement,” Sperling said. “The Web site and services from student perceptions were good. They’re doing better than they have in previous years.”
Kerry Herndon, senior in family and consumer sciences education and president of Sexual Health Awareness Peer Educators, said one thing the group did to improve K-State’s grade this year was to have a table in the K-State Student Union offering free condoms. SHAPE also gave presentations to various groups about sexual health, she said.
Herndon said she was proud of K-State’s jump from last year.
“We’ve done poorly in the past, but I think the award is more of a personal opinion,” Herndon said. “We don’t think a lot of students know about different awareness classes on campus and we are trying to promote information of classes and the organization.
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