In our last podcast (number 2) we talked a lot about doing research from home and a little about how to use the NIU library system from off-campus. I think the system is set up to make things easy; you just need to start taking advantage of it. Here goes:

Articles get delivered through NIU Libraries Information Delivery Services office. You make your article requests online, and they are delivered directly to your preferred e-mail mailbox.

For those of you in cohorts at our centers in Naperville, Hoffman, or Rockford, you will be issued a “cohort patrons link”, which will also be delivered to your mailbox. From that you will be able to access any articles currently on reserve as well as request further articles.

For book delivery, the procedures for off-campus students are the same as for on-campus students–No more hoops than absolutely necessary right?

You can go online, sign into your library account–using your z-id and password or your social security and PIN number–and request books you search for. When you request a book you request it through i-Share which is the NIU as well as all Illinois libraries system for requesting books across the state. Your books will go to the NIU library, but that doesn’t mean you have to come to campus to get them!

Information Delivery Services has a list of off-campus students at NIU-Naperville, Hoffman Estates, and Rockford. This service delivers books to the centers as part of NIU’s mailing routing. If you go to the library resource lab at your center, you can pick up books under your name at the desk. Usually, delivery takes a couple days, so think about that and make sure you aren’t getting materials at the last minute!

e.

Okay, I must admit it…I am afraid of taking the GRE.  I’m 28 years old and a mother of two–I can successfully make dinner, hold my two year old, read The House of the Seven Gables in order to finish my homework, and catch up with my husband all at the same time, but the thought of taking the GRE scares me to death. In fact, like I said in our first podcast, I’m a student-at-large because the whole process of applying can be overwhelming.

 Maybe it’s because I don’t want to realize that in the last seven years, since I graduated college, I have become…dare I say it…dumber?

 So, my question is–who else out there is in my boat?  I can’t be alone.  A friend of mine keeps sending me links to great study sites and practice tests.  I’ll pull out those old emails and post them here. 

 Anyone else have good study tips?

Amanda

The NIU View is a resource for Northern Illinois University’s off-campus and online students. Our regular NIU View podcasts and NIU Viewpoints blog entries are meant to keep you informed about new programs and events off-campus, plus information about enrolling in off-campus and online courses and programs, get in contact with the right people on campus, and manage your lives as busy people trying to get an education. We’re right there with you too!

We’ll be tracking your comments and suggestions for content, responding, and asking our expert guest bloggers to answer your questions when we can’t.

We’ll also be talking about our own experiences in off-campus and online classes, plus trying to balance our lives with work, school, kids, and oh yeah…a social life!

 Good luck to you, and to us.

Elena and Amanda