Alcohol-related trips to Harvard University Health Services (UHS) are up 27 percent through February of this academic year, in line with a new survey released Monday by the Harvard School of Public Health (SPH) reporting that college administrators nationwide are becoming increasingly concerned with student alcohol abuse.

Of the 747 administrators from colleges and universities nationwide who responded to the questionnaire, 81 percent indicated that student alcohol consumption is a problem or major problem, compared to 68 percent in a 1999 survey.

Henry Wechsler, SPH lecturer on society, human development and health and the lead author of the report, wrote in an e-mail that he attributed the increased concern among college administrators to heightened public awareness of college binge drinking and the growing threat of lawsuits by parents of students who suffer alcohol-related injuries.

“At many colleges alcohol problems have become part of college presidents’ agendas, moving up from the domain of part-time health educators in college health centers,” Wechsler wrote.

David S. Rosenthal ’59, director of UHS, echoed Wechsler’s statements, saying that alcohol consumption has become an issue of increasing concern at Harvard as well.

“If you were to ask administrators or if you were to ask me what keeps us up at night, this would be it. I worry about alcohol deaths on campus,” Rosenthal said. “I think everybody is putting this up higher on their agenda.”

Rosenthal said 103 students were admitted to UHS for alcohol-related illness between September and February of this school year, compared to 81 for the same period last year.

There were 17 undergraduate visits to UHS for alcohol related illness this February, compared to nine last year.

December and January statistics from this academic year, however, showed 16 fewer visits to UHS than the same time the previous year.

Wechsler, who said he was unsure whether Harvard participated in his study, wrote in an e-mail that administrators differ significantly in their proposed solutions to undergraduate alcohol abuse.

Only 34 percent of respondents said they have banned alcohol on campus for all students, while 90 percent reported having some form of counseling or treatment program, he said.

Though Harvard policy already prohibits alcohol in first-year dorms, Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71 formed a Committee on Alcohol and Health at Harvard last semester to investigate alcohol abuse and develop a more defined strategy for combating drinking problems among students.

Joseph Badaracco Jr., Master of Currier House and chair of the alcohol committee, said yesterday that the committee is still in a research phase and firm recommendations will not be in place for several weeks.

“At this point we are simply putting together a catalogue of different measures at different schools. We have not gotten near the point of making recommendations,” said Badaracco, who met with Wechsler earlier this school year to discuss his alcohol-related research.

Gross has said he hopes to deter drinking by increasing student social space and offering more alcohol-free events on campus.