Penn State's implementation of AlcoholEdu for College, a program designed to combat high-risk drinking, will be the largest nationwide execution of the teaching service, administrators said at Friday's Board of Trustees meeting.

Starting this year, every freshman entering Penn State will be required to complete the program, a faculty panel announced.

The program, used at more than 500 colleges in the country, was started with a $245,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, said Margaret Spear, senior director of University Health Services. The grant will provide funding for the program for the next three years.

Linda LaSalle, coordinator of Health Education Services, said Penn State's program will be the largest implementation of AlcoholEdu nationwide.

The program has had success at the University of Iowa, where Penn State Assistant Dean for Advising Linda Higginson said first-year students reported 15 percent fewer hangovers and 10 percent fewer blackouts.

The course will mix an interactive Internet session with a session at the First-Year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program (FTCAP). A pilot version of the program will be completed by freshmen registering for this year's second summer session at the University Park campus, with full implementation for freshmen at all campuses beginning in the fall.

University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) President Gavin Keirans said Friday he was in favor of the program.

"It's always good to have more information," Keirans (junior-business administration) said of AlcoholEdu, which is online and unmonitored. "Something that needs to be looked at is the testing program. If people could just Google the answers, it needs some work."