We are firmly committed to the principle that every student admitted to NIU should achieve their academic and professional goals.
We take responsibility for ensuring that students have the opportunity and support that they need to graduate and achieve their career aspirations. To that end, we pledge to remove barriers to success, provide opportunities that respond to the unique needs of our diverse students, and deliver an educational and co-curricular experience that is informed by an equity lens and a student-centric approach.
Academic advising at NIU is a student-centric and not “one-size fits all” model. NIU has elected to follow the case-management approach where academic advisors provide success coaching to individual students based on their individual needs. In addition, NIU built a collaborative process of care coordination and advocacy for services to meet individual students’ needs through available resources across campus.
Northern Illinois University is committed to implementing and scaling effective developmental education practices that support student academic success in entry-level, credit-bearing college coursework, as well as persistence and degree completion.
We recognize that the traditional developmental education model that relies on placement of students in remedial, non-credit bearing courses costs students time, money and financial aid, and has a disproportionate adverse impact for Black, Latino, first-generation and low-income students. In this context, the Office of the Provost and the academic departments that have offered developmental courses in math, English and literacy have been working together to provide more equitable access to college-level courses using a multi-faceted, data-informed method that includes approaches such as:
Consistent with the principles of the Illinois Equity in Attainment initiative, these efforts are being undertaken without sacrificing institutional quality or excellence.
As part of the commitment to eliminating disparities in degree completion rates, NIU used disaggregated, actionable data to identify course completion gaps and highlight the disproportionate impact that outcomes in 100- and 200-level (gateway) courses can have on access to academic majors, minors, certificates, degrees and ultimately careers. As a result, colleges and departments are examining ways to increase student success in gateway courses with high rates of D/F/W (not receiving passing grades - D or F, or withdrawing - W) outcomes.
Strategies under consideration include:
Consistent with the principles of the Illinois Equity in Attainment initiative, these efforts are being undertaken without sacrificing institutional quality or excellence.
The new Strategic Enrollment Management Plan (SEM 2.0) responds to the realities students faced during the pandemic and the experiences and needs of current and future students. Specific objectives and strategies focus on student persistence, wellness, and belonging while continuing to address equity gaps as detailed in NIU’s SEM 2.0 Plan (PDF), Accountability Plan 2.0 (PDF) and ILEA Equity Plan (PDF).
Since fall 2020, we have continued to procure additional counseling resources to provide mental health services to all BIPOC and LGBTGIA students. This continues to be a partnership with Compassionate Edge that will continue throughout the 2022-2023 academic year.
NIU provides many opportunities for students to affirm their identities through many different student organizations. Below we’ve linked to some of those offered through cultural and diversity resource centers. For a complete list of organizations, please visit HuskieLink.
NIU offers a variety of opportunities for mentorship within academic programs, colleges and cultural resource centers. Highlighted below are examples of the many mentorship opportunities for diverse students.
For more than 50 years, CHANCE has provided academic and social support to new NIU students who demonstrate promise to succeed. This important role will continue even as CHANCE transitions away from its historical involvement in the admissions process, and devotes its staff and resources to support students through their NIU journey.
Starting in 2021, all interested students, regardless of high school GPA, will apply to NIU through a single admission application process, which does not require standardized test scores. After students are admitted to NIU, CHANCE will identify and extend invitations to individuals who could benefit from the expanded support, programming and resources available to them through CHANCE.
The Huskie Academic Support Center, created to re-envision tutoring across campus, is focused on supporting all students (undergraduate through graduate levels) through its services. The pillars include the University Writing Center (UWC), Supplemental Instruction (SI) and Peer Academic Coaches (PACs).
The UWC is designed to support all types of writing and writing-related projects across campus. The sessions span from academic writing/presentations to personal and professional documents, as well as in-class support through presentations/workshops. The UWC client base includes all undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty and staff. The UWC also works with students affiliated with the honors program and TRIO programming.
SI currently supports MATH 101, 103, 104/105, 110, 211 and 229, as well as other 100 and 200 level STEM courses through scheduled and open office hour tutoring to help students understand the material in one-on-one sessions. The short-term goal is for SI to support all courses identified as being high DFW or high equity gap courses, as well as 100- and 200-level courses. SI is currently recruiting new hires, so new courses will be added as SILs finish their training.
The PACs help students develop academic skills such as time management and study strategies, as well as identify resources and tips for using those resources. Each PAC is affiliated with a particular campus unit (i.e., Asian American Resource Center, Center for Black Studies, Center for Student Assistance, CHANCE, Navigate, and Student Financial Advising Services). In some cases, the PACs work specifically with the population of the unit they represent and, in other cases, with the general population of students. The PACs are conducting one-on-one sessions, developing and presenting workshops (understanding MyNIU, navigating Blackboard, challenges of being first generation or undocumented, etc.).
NIU has received federal funding for TRIO Student Support Services to provide support and success coaching to first-generation, low-income, and learning and physically disabled participants (140 students annually) in developing a successful collegiate experience leading to graduation, while fostering a supportive campus climate.
The University Honors Program adopted a test-blind holistic admission review process in fall 2019, resulting in more diverse entering honors classes in fall 2020 and 2021. The honors community is stronger for assessing a variety of factors to identify academically curious and dedicated students, rather than relying on standardized test scores that are widely understood to reflect cultural and socioeconomic bias. The honors program is dedicated to continuing to build inclusive and equitable practices for an elite (but not elitist) student experience.
Students at NIU are recognized by a variety of areas for work in diversity, equity and inclusion. A list of awards are below.