As a high school senior, Aaron Weir decided to attend Texas Tech University in Lubbock, not for any particular academic program but for the hospitality that school extends toward students in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction.

"I was 16 years old when I got clean and sober and I want to stay that way in college," says Mr. Weir, a 20-year-old business major now entering his junior year at Texas Tech. Among amenities including a sober-student hangout with study pods, pool tables and 12-step meetings, Mr. Weir receives...