The Current Status of Sex Education in U.S. Colleges and Universities: A School Website Content Review

Abstract This study used a website content analysis to examine the prevalence of sex education in higher education institutions throughout the US. A total of 413 postsecondary institutions varying in type (public, private) and size (small, medium, large) were chosen via stratified random sampling. Each of the 413 school websites was reviewed to determine whether sexual health programs, sexual violence prevention programs, and basic sexual health information and resources were provided to their school community. Results show that the majority of institutions reviewed, regardless of the type and size, provided sexual assault prevention programs, whereas a smaller proportion of institutions (mostly public and large) provided sexual health programs. Findings confirm the importance and urgency of allocating more resources to comprehensive sex education in US higher education.