Over 45% of NIU students started their education at a community college!   That’s an impressive number.  We’re very proud of these students, because they come from some of the best community colleges in the U.S.  Even better, they do extremely well at NIU.  With 20 community college districts, our region provides tremendous opportunities for people who want to begin a college education or train for a new career close to home.

With your needs in mind, we are expanding access to NIU’s bachelor’s degree-completion programs.  Our goal is to increase the locations where you can begin and complete an undergraduate degree close to home.

Our partnerships with community colleges help develop local support for students and employees who want more education.  Historically, students lived and studied at college for four years.  Times have changed!  People now complete undergraduate education at times and places that complement their lives, their family, and their work schedules.  We’re doing our part to give you new options.

I invite you to check out our Community College Partnerships webpage or to give me a call for more information.  I can be reached at 815-753-9677 or at pcrawford@niu.edu.

Find out what we’re offering, and where it’s being offered!

Thanks,

Paul Crawford

Universities across Illinois formed an alliance offering homeland security courses for students enrolled in any participating university. If you’re enrolled at one of these Alliance universities, you now have the opportunity to gain homeland security skills and disaster preparedness training from expert faculty members across Illinois.

Here’s a list of participating universities:

• Chicago State University
• Eastern Illinois University
• Governors State University
• Illinois State University
• Northern Illinois University
• Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
• Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
• Western Illinois University

If you are admitted to any of these schools you can take approved IDEA courses from any of the other institutions. Check out the list of classes by visiting www.illinoisideahs.org.

Amanda

The Department of Nursing just announced new cohorts popping up in locations near you.  In a cohort, you’ll attend class with the same people throughout all the courses, and you will know your entire schedule from the beginning.  The nice part about this is that you’ll get to know your classmates and come to rely on them in many ways.  Another benefit – we have found that students in cohorts are more likely to complete their degrees.

New Cohorts:

• Elgin Community College: Spring 2010 and Spring 2012
• Harper College:  Fall 2008 and Fall 2010
• Waubonsee Community College: Fall 2009 and Fall 2011

Visit www.niu.edu/offcampusacademics/nursing/ to see program requirements and discover how much a bachelor’s degree in nursing can advance your career as an RN.

In the past, many of our nursing cohorts were located in hospitals.  Moving forward, you’ll notice that most cohorts will reside inside community colleges all across Northern Illinois.  NIU believes that learning is best conducted in educational environments—and lucky for you—NIU doesn’t make you come to DeKalb.

Check back often to see if new cohorts are available in your area!

Amanda

If you haven’t already noticed, you’ll soon catch on to another change here at the NIU View.  My partner in crime, Elena, has moved on to a new position in New York City.  Elena is now working for Games for Change.  G4C offers support to organizations interested in using games to evoke social change.  I bet Elena already gained a new perspective into the world of education and digital gaming—especially how the two complement each other.  I am working on getting her to check in with us every now and then—just to keep us posted on what is happening in her world.
You’ll notice she picked up where she left off on the blogging front—you can check her new blog out at http://www.gamesforchange.org/g4cblog. 

We wish her the best!!

Amanda

You may have noticed a VERY long absence here at NIU View.  I am happy to announce the good news—WE’RE BACK!!  I am thrilled to be blogging, posting, and podcasting—focusing my attention on the information relevant to NIU’s off-campus and online students.  During the upcoming months, we’ll spend our time adding new content, changing our landing page slightly, adding an html site to the View, and driving traffic to this fabulous site so that we may start some great conversations regarding NIU and adult and online students.

Welcome back!! Amanda