In collegiate prevention, we recognize that college students are bombarded with a persistent messaging that has become part of higher education lore: “everyone is misusing alcohol and other substances.” 

The unfortunate result of this messaging is that it becomes self-fulfilling – as student misperception overestimates prevalence, use becomes more permissive, and misuse and related consequences rise. It is the duty of a comprehensive campus prevention program to correct misperceptions and better align student perception. This can be done through a social norms campaign. Campuses need solutions that take into consideration varying levels of capacity, unique branding guidelines, and diverse student populations while preserving fidelity to the evidence supporting social norms campaigns. 

This toolkit is designed to be a guide to move forward to that goal. Below is an outline of the toolkit:

• Setting the Stage - What is Social Norming?
• College Student Risk & Protective Factors
• Planning a Social Norms Campaign 
• Models & Theory
• Implementation
• Resources
• References