As a public institution, NIU takes seriously our responsibilities to be good financial stewards and align our investments with the university's priorities and the expectations of the Illinois Board of Higher Education set forth in Thriving Illinois. Accordingly, NIU is committed to long-term sustainability through budget processes and allocations that are academically responsive and fiscally responsible; reflect our dedication to being student-centric and equity-minded; demonstrate an ongoing investment in our faculty and staff; and that align with our mission, vision and values.
Learn more about NIU's efforts underway focused on financial sustainability through a combination of fiscal balance, innovation and entrepreneurship.
In February of 2020, President Lisa C. Freeman launched a universitywide initiative to identify administrative practices, policies and procedures that could be transformed, simplified or eliminated. The goal was to ultimately save time and money while freeing employees from routine tasks and allowing time to focus on higher level thinking. Through a very inclusive process, more than 70 opportunities for greater efficiency were identified. From that emerged a list of 21 projects that were ready for implementation along with nine others that require policy development prior to implementation. Learn more about the priorities and progress.