New this year to Health Services at UNH is the speedy 20-minute HIV test. Every Monday and Thursday, Health Services provides the opportunity for students to get tested.

The new method is Oraquick Advance Rapid HIV antibody test. The process is very simple and inexpensive, and results are available in 20 minutes, as opposed to the previous two-week waiting period.

Peter Welch, who is the health educator and counselor at Health Services, said he saw double the number of students who get tested when they changed to Oraquick this past fall. “It’s really encouraging that students are coming out to get tested and be educated about safe sex,” he said. With Oraquick, the price of HIV testing increased from $18 to $20, but that didn’t seem to be a factor for the numbers.