Program Keeps Chronically Ill Students Connected and on Track
April 16, 2007
The struggles of students with a chronic illness are largely invisible on college campuses. But not at DePaul.
Thanks to the Chronic Illness Initiative (CII), Matt Morgan was able to complete his degree despite suffering from a chronic illness. Morgan, a native of Massillon, Ohio, was healthy when he enrolled in the School for New Learning (SNL) in 2001, but became ill in 2004 when he was about six classes short of completing his bachelor’s degree.
“I was very lucky to have been enrolled in SNL at the time,” Morgan says. “I never would have been able to complete my degree because my symptoms were too severe.” The program was launched in fall 2003 by SNL. Morgan’s symptoms, typical of a chronic illness, would wax and wane with unpredictable relapses. While most disabled students have needs that can be accommodated prior to the term and remain unchanged, chronically ill students have needs that require constant adjustments. He graduated in 2006 after taking a combination of online and— when his health permitted—classroom-based courses in SNL.
The CII serves about 150 students from across the country, most of whom are enrolled in SNL’s online distance learning classes. The students in the program suffer from such chronic illnesses as chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease and multiple sclerosis. Students in the Chicago area have the option of taking regular classes; however, relapses or unpredictable symptoms of their illness may require them to take courses online.
Lynn Royster, director and founder of the CII—the only one of its kind in the country—says she expects faculty, staff, students, prospective students, parents and service agency representatives to attend this year’s conference. “It will bring people together to share information about chronically ill students and give us the opportunity to learn more about what we are doing and how we can do it better.”
Royster, who’s also a visiting professor in SNL, founded the program to offer the opportunity of a high-quality college education to a population that has been largely ignored or underserved after watching the difficulties her son encountered trying to get a college degree while being chronically ill. “I watched him attempt to go to college, and I realized it was impossible.”
The program recently hired Paula Kravitz, who previously worked as a clinical social worker for several not-for-profit agencies and the Illinois Department of Mental Health, as CII advisor. “I want the students to feel connected to the program,” says Kravitz. “I see my new role as an opportunity to create an atmosphere that helps chronically ill students feel understood and emotionally supported so that they might realize their dream of a college degree.”
The CII has recently begun a Buddy Program that pairs new students with CII students who have at least four terms of experience with SNL. “The buddy, for example, could help a new student with questions about an online class, a professor’s expectations, a schedule grid or possibly how to resolve a technical or computer problem,” Royster says. “It’s another level of connectedness to the university that helps break down the isolation often experienced by a sick person."
