The transition to a college environment can pose significant risk to a recovering student and to students at risk for alcohol/other drug problems. Many colleges and universities, including the University of Michigan, have developed programs to help recovering students maintain their recovery, excel academically and have a normative college experience apart from the culture of alcohol and other drug use. Research demonstrates exceptionally high rates of academic success and sustained recovery among students who participate in Collegiate Recovery Programs. This presentation will provide an overview of the national and local efforts to build recovery support programs on college campuses, and provide information about what parents and students should look for as they explore their options for pursuing a degree of higher education. The program is presented by Mary Jo Desprez, MA; Director of Health Promotion and Community Relations, for the University of Michigan. Mary Jo manages both the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Program and the Collegiate Recovery Program at the University of Michigan. She serves as the Co-Chair for both the Ann Arbor Campus and Community Coalition (A2C3), and the Michigan Campus Coalition (MC3). She is a Center Associate for the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention (U.S Department of Education). Mary Jo has also been an adjunct instructor at Eastern Michigan University since 1997. This program is part of the Dawn Farm Education Series, a FREE, annual workshop series developed to provide accurate, helpful, hopeful, practical, current information about chemical dependency, recovery, family and related issues. The Education Series is organized by Dawn Farm, a non-profit community of programs providing a continuum of chemical dependency services. For information, please see http://www.dawnfarm.org/programs/education-series.

1. COLLEGIATE RECOVERY
PROGRAMS
SUPPORTING SECOND
CHANCES Mary Jo Desprez, MA
Director,
Health Promotion and
Community Relations
University Health
Service
University of Michigan
October 2012

2. …are
about
THE STORIES second
chances

3. WORKING A STRONG RECOVERY PROGRAM
AND PURSUING A COLLEGE DEGREE SHOULD
NOT BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE
Research has demonstrated that for youth with substance use
disorders and/or co-occurring mental health disorders, an acute
care model of clinical intervention alone is insufficient to enable
youth to sustain treatment gains and achieve long -term recovery
(SAMHSA 2009).
We do know that, for youth, an environment supportive of recovery
is essential. Personal change does not happen in a vacuum, least
of all the transformation required to overcome an addiction, but it
is influenced by a social context that can facilitate or impede
recovery from addiction (Hser & Anglin 2011).
Recovery/Relapse Prevention in Educational Settings For Youth With Substance Use & Co-occurring
mental health disorders 2010 Consultative Sessions Report , U.S Dept. of Education

4. The culture
creates
vulnerability
THE CONTEXT and the
institutions
provide
oppor tunity

5. A SNAPSHOT OF ANNUAL HIGH -RISK COLLEGE
DRINKING CONSEQUENCES
 Death: 1 ,825 college students between the ages of 1 8 and 24 die from
alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes
(Hingson et al., 2009 ).
 Injur y: 599,000 students between the ages of 1 8 and 24 are
unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol ( Hingson et al.,
2009).
 Assault: 696,000 students between the ages of 1 8 and 24 are
assaulted by another student who has been drinking ( Hingson et al.,
2009).
 Sexual A buse: 97,000 students between the ages of 1 8 and 24 are
victims of alcohol -related sexual assault or date rape ( Hingson et al.,
2009).

6. A SNAPSHOT OF ANNUAL HIGH -RISK COLLEGE
DRINKING CONSEQUENCES
 Unsafe Sex: 400,000 students between the ages of 1 8 and 24 had
unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students between the ages of
1 8 and 24 repor t having been too intoxicated to know if they consented
to having sex ( Hingson et al., 2002 ).

Academic Problems: About 25 percent of college students repor t
academic consequences of their drinking including missing class,
falling behind, doing poorly on exams or paper s, and receiving lower
grades overall ( Engs et al., 1996; Presley et al., 1996a, 1996b;
Wechsler et al., 2002 ).

Health Problems/Suicide Attempts: More than 150,000 students
develop an alcohol -related health problem ( Hingson et al., 2002 ), and
between 1 .2 and 1 .5 percent of students indicate that they tried to
commit suicide within the past year due to drinking or drug use
(Presley et al., 1998 ).

Drunk Driving: 3,360,000 students between the ages of 1 8 and 24
drive under the influence of alcohol ( Hingson et al., 2009 ).

7. A SNAPSHOT OF ANNUAL HIGH -RISK COLLEGE
DRINKING CONSEQUENCES
 Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: 31 percent of college
students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6
percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12
months, according to questionnaire -based self-reports about
their drinking (Knight et al., 2002).

8. THE CULTURE

9. THE SOCIAL MEDIA/MEDIA LANDSCAPE

12. Recovery
An important piece of a
Support
comprehensive plan

13. WHAT IS A RECOVERY COMMUNITY?
Recovery communities provide a nurturing,
affirming environment in which students
recovering from addiction can successfully
pursue academic, personal, and professional
goals for the purpose of enhancing their
quality of life!

14. HOW DOES A RECOVERY COMMUNITY WORK?
Collegiate Recover y Communities:
 Promote recovery from addiction and work to prevent relapse
 Improve educational outcomes for students
 Create the opportunity for a substance -free culture on campus
 Emphasize social support as a mechanism for initiating
positive lifestyle changes
Ongoing support from a community of peers is critical to sustaining recovery over long periods of time.

15. HOW DOES A RECOVERY COMMUNITY WORK?
Collegiate Recovery Communities
1. Emotional suppor t
• Demonstrations of empathy, love, caring and concern
• Peer-to-peer mentoring
• Adult mentoring in recovery-related issues
• Recovery support groups
2. Informational suppor t
• Health and wellness information for recovering individuals
• Educational assistance
• Employment readiness
• Transformation of recovering students to productive
citizenship

16. HOW DOES A RECOVERY COMMUNITY WORK?
Collegiate Recovery Communities
3. Instrumental suppor t
• Concrete assistance in task accomplishment (i.e. securing
financial aid, job placement, completing applications)
• Providing direct assistance in locating housing that provides
a safe environment for a recovering person
• Academic advising
4. Companionship
• Helping people in early recovery feel connected and enjoy
being with others
• Recreational activities in alcohol- and drug-free
environments. (This assistance is especially needed in early
recovery, when little about abstaining from alcohol or drugs
is reinforcing).

17. WHAT IS HAPPENING ON CAMPUSES?
 To determine an estimate of the number of students
on campus that could benefit from a Collegiate
Recovery Community, use the following formula.
Though not a scientific representation, this formula helps you to understand how prevalent
substance abuse and addiction is on your campus. *
Total number of Students Enrolled - 30,000
Students Needing a Collegiate Recovery Community at a Sample University
Number meeting criteria for substance abuse (31.6%) …………………………………………9,480
Number of students meeting criteria for substance dependency (6%)………………..
1,800
Estimated number of students who are seeking help (4%) ………………………………451
THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 451 AT THIS COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY WHO COULD POTENTIALLY BENEFIT
FROM A COLLEGIATE RECOVERY COMMUNITY!
*(see Knight et al., 2002 and Clements, 1999)

18. EXAMPLES OF PROGRAMS

19. STEP UP PROGRAM
AUGSBURG
 S te p U P s e r v e s m o r e t h a n 7 5 s t u d e n t s a n n u a l l y ( m o r e t h a n 5 0 0 s i n c e i t s i n c e p t i o n )
a n d i s t h e l a r g e s t r e s i d e n t i a l c o l l e g i a te r e c o v er y p r o g r am .
 S te p U P s t u d e n t s ’ av e r a g e G PA i s 3 . 2 ( o f 4 . 0 ) .
 O v e r t h e p a s t t h r e e ye a r s , t h e S te p U P a b s t i n e n c e r a te h a s av e r a g e d 9 3 % .
 T h e r e i s n o a d d i t i o n a l c o s t f o r s t u d e n t s to p a r t i c i p a te i n S te p U P.
 M i n n e a p o l is /S t . Pa u l i s a h i g h - d e n s i t y l o c a t i o n f o r 1 2 - s te p s u p p o r t m e et i n g s.
T h e S te p U P P r o g r a m a t A u g s b ur g C o l l e g e s t r i v e s to h e l p s t u d e n t s c h a m p i o n l i v e s o f
r e c ov e r y, a c h i ev e a c a d e m i c s u c c e s s , a n d t h r i v e i n a c o m m un i t y o f a c c o u n t a b il i t y a n d
support.
h t t p : / / w w w. fl i c k r.c o m/ / p h oto s / a ug s b ur g c o ll e g e / s et s / 7 21 576 2 6 2 6 7 8 2 0 0 3 6 / s h ow /

20. TEXAS TECH
 COLLEGIATE RECOVERY COMMUNIT Y SEMINAR
 T WELVE-STEP MEETINGS & OTHER SUPPORT
 ACADEMIC SUPPORT
 ASSOCIATION OF STUDENTS ABOUT SERVICE (ASAS)
 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR RECOVERING STUDENTS
Requirements
M i n imum o n e ye a r o f c o m pl ete a bs t i n e nc e fro m a l c o h ol, drug s a n d/ o r a l l pro c e s s
a ddi c t i ons.
On e ye a r o ut o f a t h e ra pe ut i c l i v ing e nv i ro nment .
M us t e n ro l l fo r, a n d c o m pl ete, a t l e a s t 1 2 h o ur s c re di t a s a n un de rg ra dua te a n d
9 h o ur s c re di t a s a g ra dua te s t ude n t w i t h a G . P. A . o f 3 . 0 o r bet te r.
Sc h o l ar ships ra n g e fro m $ 5 0 0 . 0 0 to $ 5 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 pe r s e m e ster, exc l udi n g s um m er
s e m ester s. Th e a m o un t o f s c h o l ar ship m o n ey re c e i ved by a s t ude n t w i l l de pe n d
o n t h e i r c o m m it me nt to o ur va l ue s, l e a de r ship w i t h i n t h e Co m m unit y, a n d G . P. A .

21. RUTGERS UNIVERSIT Y
ADAP RECOVERY HOUSING
Students suppor t each other’s sobriety while forming meaningful
per sonal relationships based around friendship, sobriety and their
college experiences. Some of the unique benefits to Recover y Housing
are:
 The Recover y House is an on -campus residence hall.
 There are no signs, which protects students’ anonymity.
 A 1 2-month housing option.
 Easy access to University resources such as Rutgers Health Ser vices,
which includes Counseling, Alcohol & Other Drug Assistance Program &
Psychiatric Ser vices (CAPS), medical ser vices, on campus 1 2 -Step
meetings and recover y counseling.
 There is a Recover y Counselor (RC) who advises students on academic
and career suppor t.
 Organized activities such as attendance at spor ting events and plays,
hikes, bike trips, intramurals and other campus events.

22. UNIVERSIT Y OF MICHIGAN
COLLEGIATE RECOVERY PROGRAM
O n e ye a r o l d
Th e Co l l egiate Re c ove r y P ro g ra m
prov i de s:
 A s uppo r t i ve c o m m un it y w i t h i n t h e
c a m pus c ul t ure t h a t re i n fo rc e s t h e
de c i sion to di s e n gag e fro m
a ddi c t i ve be h av i or s
 E duc a t i o nal o ppo r t un i t i e s
a l o ngside re cove r y s uppo r t to
e n s ure t h a t s t ude n t s do n ot h ave to
s a c ri fic e o n e fo r t h e ot h e r
 Ac c o un t a bilit y fo r s t ude n t s i n
re c over y t h a t c o m e s fro m s e l f,
pe e r s , a n d h i g h er e duc a t i o n s t a f f
 A n o rm a t ive c o l l e ge ex pe ri e nc e fo r
s t ude n t s i n re c ove r y a pa r t fro m t h e
c ul t ure o f dri n k i ng/use t h a t i s
pre s e n t o n to day ' s c a m p us e s

24. IT IS A MOVEMENT
75 colleges and universities across
the country
Association of Recovery in Higher
Education
Recovery Oriented Systems of Care

25. REFERENCES
Augsberg University ht tp://www.augsburg.edu/stepup/index.html
Recover y/Relapse Prevention in Educational Settings For Youth With
Substance Use & Co-occurring m ental health disorders 2010
Consultative Sessions Repor t , U.S Dept. of Education
Rutgers University, A DAP Program
www. rhscaps.rutgers.edu/ser vices/adap -recover y -housing
T he Center for t he St udy of Addiction and Recover y, Texas Tech University
T he U.S. Depar tment of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol,
Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention
T he University of Michigan Collegiate Recover y Program
http://www.uhs.umich.edu/recover y

26. ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING

27. QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
maryjod@med.umich.edu
734-615-7694