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The struggles of students with a chronic illness are largely invisible on college campuses, but not at DePaul. We were the first university in the country to create a program that allows chronically ill students to work toward a degree at their own pace.

Our Chronic Illness Initiative (CII), established in 2004 within the School for New Learning (SNL), was recently highlighted by University Business magazine as part of its 30 smart business ideas. The magazine exhorted other universities to follow DePaul's example: "Students facing an illness may be particularly eager to keep learning, so do what you can to help them succeed."

Accommodating our chronically ill students in their quest for a college degree is more than smart business, it's the right thing to do. The magazine noted that many chronically ill students find it almost impossible to meet the requirements of a conventional college program.

Students in our program suffer from such chronic illnesses as diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease and multiple sclerosis. A chronic illness often involves frequent hospital stays or waxing and waning symptoms that interfere with the student’s ability to engage in a traditional college program.

The initiative serves about 150 students from across the country, most of whom are enrolled in SNL’s distance-learning classes. Our CII program provides students with the option of earning a degree completely online and features informed faculty who are trained to understand and respond effectively to the needs of students who have chronic illnesses.

Students in the program receive enhanced advising services and are assigned a student mentor with at least four quarters of seniority to better help them navigate their college experience.

For too long, students with chronic illness seeking a high-quality degree have been overlooked or underserved by higher education. I applaud SNL's faculty and staff for their compassion and dedication to helping our chronically ill students achieve their educational goals.

The CII program, held up as a best practice by a national magazine, is one more example of  SNL's innovative approach to higher education.