Trojan(R) Ranks U.S. Colleges and Universities in Second Annual Sexual Health R...(-based sexual health information -- A...),Health

-- Anonymous advice / newspaper columns

-- Lecture outreach programs

-- Student peer groups

-- Sexual assault programs

With a significantly expanded scope including more judging categories, more schools, and broader data collection methods like live health center interviews, Web reviews and student polls, the 2007 Trojan Sexual Health Report Card tells a different story from last year.

The University of Minnesota was the surprise standout, moving up to number one this year, from 54 last year. The University of Wyoming claimed second place, up from number 92. According to the report, both schools improved dramatically, making major enhancements to sexual health resources offered to students.

Availability of anonymous advice, free contraception including condom distribution, and separate sexual awareness programs were the biggest factors in differentiating the top ranked schools from the rest.

"We were quite surprised and gratified by our findings," said Bert Sperling, president of Sperling's BestPlaces, an independent research firm based in Portland. "The top-ranking schools made significant improvements to their programming-due in part, we hope, to last year's study results -- and they deserve to be commended."

While only one Ivy League school cracked the top ten (Harvard, No. 10), all schools in the league placed in the top 40, posting the highest conference-wide GPA of 3.28 combined. Conversely, four schools in the Sun Belt conference fell into the bottom 10 (University of Louisiana, No. 138; Arkansas State University, No. 137; University of Arkansas, No. 136; Middle Tennessee State University, No. 131). No schools in this conference made it into the top 20 and the overall conference GPA was 2.23.

Yale University, which topped the rankings in 2006, came in at number 16 this year. Access to sexual health information and resources, including the schools annual Sex Week at Ya
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