Alcohol is the drug most consistently abused by college students, according to an unprecedented federally funded survey of 56,361 students at 78 colleges.

The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, administered between 1989 and 1991, reported serious levels of substance abuse on American college campuses.

Students who took part, anonymously, in the largest study ever to examine undergraduate alcohol and drug use, described their use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and other drugs. They also answered questions about personal health and academic performance.

The study, co-authored by Dr. Philip W. Meilman '73, showed that alcohol abuse had a strong negative effect on the learning process.

Meilman and his colleagues found a direct association between a student's grade point average and the number of drinks he or she imbibed per week. Participants who maintained A averages reported consuming four drinks per week, while those with a D averages downed eleven drinks.

The study also indicated that students who had come into contact with substance abuse awareness programs drank less on the average than those who had not.

"Educational programs seem to have an effect," said Meilman.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 said that Harvard had no new plans to modify its exiting substance abuse awareness programs in response to the study.

"The University already has programs in place that educate and inform students. We will continue to move ahead with those," Jewett said.

Substance abuse had a negative effect on many aspects of campus life, the study said. Its authors found a connection between substance abuse and sexual assault, dormitory damage and decreased class attendance.

The survey's results were presented at aWashington, D.C. press conference last week, and aseries of congressional hearings addressing theproblem are scheduled to be held early next year.

"This study could affect federal policy in anumber of different ways," said Dave Strickland,press secretary for U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard(D-Ill.), who initiated the hearings.

Strickland said the study will likely providemomentum in Congress for the funding of morealcohol and drug abuse educational programs oncollege campuses