University Health Services plans to replace its online sexual assault and dating violence prevention program, Tonight, with a new updated program by fall 2017.
Designed in 2011-2012, Tonight was self-developed using University of Wisconsin student and community input and stories to create a program that would be specifically geared toward UW students.
Beginning in fall 2014, Tonight was a required program for all new undergraduate students.
But by fall 2017, UHS is worried Tonight will be outdated and not reach new student interests, Carmen Hotvedt, UHS manager of End Violence on Campus, said.
Though no specific plans have been made yet, Hotvedt said UHS is starting to gather information about what it would cost and how much time it would take to replace Tonight with another self-developed program versus a vendor-produced program.
“Tonight is one dose, it was never meant to meet everyone’s needs,” Hotvedt said. “It was really designed to meet the vast majority of sexual assault on campuses, to meet our federal requirements and to start a baseline conversation.”
UHS plans to spend the next year working with students and community members to gather feedback about Tonight and changes the new program should consider, she said.
UHS plans to examine whether students would care if an outside vendor-based program was used to replace Tonight rather than another self-developed program with student actors and input, Hovedt said.
The program would have to meet the same federal requirements Tonight does, and would be expected to begin in July 2017, fading out the old program and replacing it with the new by fall 2017, she said.
