Hi fellow Huskies,

Welcome to the spring 2025 semester! Whether you’re returning or joining us for the first time, we are thrilled to be part of your educational journey. We know online learning can present some unique challenges, but please remember that you are part of a strong community of learners and dedicated support staff. We believe in your success and are committed to supporting you every step of the way.

We look forward to distributing this newsletter each semester to remind you of important dates, helpful resources and educational technology tools that might be useful as you move through your program. Even though you’re learning from a distance, you’re never truly alone. Take advantage of our online events, workshops and student groups that offer great opportunities to meet others, exchange ideas and build lasting connections.

We can’t wait to see the amazing things you’ll accomplish this spring. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the Office of Online Learning if you have any questions or need support. Here’s to a successful and rewarding semester.

Go Huskies!

Anna Richardson (she/her/hers)
Director of Online Learning
Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning
Office of Online Learning

Our Office of Online Learning is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays, excluding holidays and university closures. Our team can be reached by phone at 815-753-6660 or email at online@niu.edu.

Joe Woolford

Joe is currently in his second semester of NIU’s online Master of Business Administration program. Aside from being an online student at NIU, he also works within our Office of Online Learning as an online student success specialist.

What do you enjoy most about your role at NIU?

I love getting to help my students throughout their entire program journey.

When I worked in admissions, I would only get to help them get started, but now I get to stay with them for the whole program, see them succeed and celebrate their completion at the end. Working from home with my dogs isn’t so bad either!

How does your experience as an online student impact your work?

I recently started the online MBA program here at NIU, so now I get to have a unique look at the inner workings from the student perspective. Not only do I get to learn different ways that our department can support our students, but I get to build relationships with the faculty so our team can better serve them as well. It also helps me connect with my students more easily because we have that shared experience and it helps them be open with more questions.

What advice would you give to online students or higher education professionals that support online learners?

For students, I would say never hesitate to reach out to an online student success specialist. I don't mean this as a shameless plug, but there are so many situations that we encounter where if a student had reached out to one of us, or even the general online learning email, we could have solved it in minutes as opposed to them worrying about it over the course of multiple days. For professionals supporting online students, I would say having contingencies for technology issues and being adaptable to new programs. Having multiple programs/methods to fall back on in case of issues on our end or the students’ makes sure we display our own dependability to the student and reinforces that they are a priority to us. Technology and programs are always advancing, so adapting to that isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity. We should always be able to meet students where they are, and that adaptability helps us do so.

Interested in being featured in our next student spotlight? Reach out to us at online@niu.edu to let us know.

The educational technology tool we want to highlight in this issue is Zotero. It is a free, open-source, reference management software designed to help researchers collect, organize, cite and share research materials. It is particularly useful for managing bibliographic data and related research materials like PDFs, webpages and other documents.

Reference management and organization: Zotero allows you to collect, organize and store citations and research materials (e.g., articles, books, PDFs) in a structured library, with tools for tagging and categorizing items.

Citation generation and word processor integration: Zotero helps generate citations and bibliographies in various styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) and integrates with word processors (like Microsoft Word) to easily insert citations while writing.

Collaboration and cloud syncing: Zotero supports syncing across devices, and allows for group collaboration by sharing collections, making it easier to work together on research projects.

A weekly action plan can help you navigate your activities for the week. I also highly recommend using a planner to keep things organized. NIU offers a downloadable word document that blocks off time in 30- and 60-minute increments if you would like to use it. 

— Mackenzie Gattman, Online Student Success Specialist.

We’re excited to launch our brand-new Online Student Advisory Committee (OSAC) this spring. OSAC consists of a diverse group of online student members who represent the broader student population. OSAC will serve as a collaborative space for discussing and influencing key decisions and initiatives related to the online learning experience. This committee will provide a vital voice for the student body, offering feedback, recommendations and insights to enhance the quality, accessibility and overall student experience of online education at Northern Illinois University. If you are interested in joining OSAC, please reach out to Anna Richardson at aprichardson@niu.edu.

Last date to drop your course and receive a full refund:

If you’re enrolled in dynamic courses (those that start and end on different dates than those listed above), check out this short video that shows you how to look up your specific drop date.

Last day to apply for spring 2025 graduation:

For graduate students: