Learn more about resources for college students who are seeking a degree after completing an addiction treatment program.
Watch the VideoYou can earn a college degree and have a fulfilling college experience while maintaining recovery from addiction. Overcoming addiction is the first part of the journey, but recovery continues after treatment. Colleges and universities provide resources to help students achieve their academic goals during their recovery journey.
Collegiate Recovery Communities are safe, supportive environments located on college campuses for students in recovery. The programs provide physical space for recovering students to socialize, host on-campus support group meetings and provide advising and counseling specialists who understand the recovery process.
CRCs are embedded in the college or university’s internal structure. They’re often a branch of a school’s counseling or mental health services, but students play a large role in the program. CRCs are developed by students, and members of CRCs often have a voice in the programming and social activities offered.
Different schools have different eligibility requirements, but in general students must be willing to abstain from alcohol and other drug use. Some schools require letters of recommendation, successful completion of a treatment program or a willingness to participate in group meetings and community service projects.
The CRC at UCF grew from recovering students’ desire for peer support on campus. For seven years, several students led separate initiatives to grow the recovery movement that started with on-campus support group meetings in 2009.
Today, the CRC at UCF provides roommate-matching services that allow recovering students to room with other students in recovery. The program has a dedicated physical space for students to interact, and it provides a variety of resources for students seeking a fulfilling, drug-free college experience.
As a student, Brett Watson was instrumental in the development of the CRC at UCF. Today, Brett helps people suffering from addiction find treatment.
Tom Hall has been a part of the recovery movement at UCF for nearly a decade. He oversaw the development of the CRC at UCF, and he currently oversees CRC programming.
Dr. Timothy Huckaby is a triple board certified physician and the president of the Florida Society of Addiction Medicine. He continues to be instrumental in the long-term success of his patients.