Residence Halls
Northern's Office of Student Housing and Dining Services provides housing options to cater to transfer and older students. These options include single rooms and suites, quiet-lifestyle floors, over-21 floors, and floors exclusively for transfer students.
Housing and Dining not only takes care of on-campus housing, but they can also help with locating and deciding on off-campus living establishments. Housing and Dining provides ratings guides and brief summaries of many apartment complexes in the surrounding area. For more information, contact the Office of Student Housing and Dining Services at (815) 753-1525
Campus Information Center
The CIC, located on the main floor of the Holmes Student Center, provides several services to the transfer community. Students may use the rider/driver board to help with commuting. The CIC provides a service to reach students in their classes in case of family emergencies, and the CIC can also inform professors of a student's extended period of absence, although this does not excuse any student from class. The CIC can be called for university closings due to weather conditions. Northern also maintains a hotline to keep students, especially commuting students, informed of campus closings during periods of inclement weather. Students may call 752-OPEN or 1(888)4-NIU-OPEN. NIU also has weather updates on the web. A current sample of DeKalb weather can be found online.
Special Help Groups
NIU has several support groups for students. University Resources for Women, SWAN (Students Who Are Non-Traditional), University Resources for Latinos, and the Center for Black Studies are all available to help transfer students find their niche at Northern.
Also, depending on your individual needs, you may want to check out the Campus Child Care Center, the Veteran's Assistance Office, the Center for Access-Ability Resources, and the Student Employment Office.
Parking
The yellow parking permit that designates the commuter student can be purchased at Parking Services. Northern has several commuter parking lots, including three levels in the Parking Garage. For more information, contact Parking Services at (815) 753-1045.
Jobs, Internships, and Careers
As transfer students, you have probably already decided on a choice of major, and you have most likely completed your general education classes. The Cooperative Education/Internship program can help you integrate the classroom with practical experience. NIU has one of the largest internship programs in the country with nearly 3,000 student intern positions available from over 2,000 employers.
NIU has two offices to help you find a job while going to school. The Student Employment Office, located in Swen Parson, provides information about university jobs and postings. Career Planning and Placement helps locate off-campus jobs in DeKalb and the surrounding area. Career Planning and Placement also provides a career resource area and resume planning assistance.
On-campus interviewing is another important aspect of job-hunting. The Career Planning and Placement Center aided in attracting over 825 employers to campus for job fairs. NIU's Spring 1999 Job Fair was the largest one-day, campus-based job fair ever held by one institution.
Founders Library
The NIU library system is on-line for easy access by students who cannot always come to campus to do their research. Also of note is the loan card. Any books unavailable at NIU can be searched for in the Illinois area, and if the book can be found at another Illinois university institution, then the book/article can be delivered to Founders for the student.
Study Areas
The Holmes Student Center, Founders Library, residence halls, and most campus ministries have study and lounge areas available to students.
Eating on Campus
Northern can help you find the food you need. The Holmes Student Center has several eating establishments such as a McDonald's, Papa John's, Starbuck's, and the BlackHawk Cafeteria. Especially for commuter students, the HSC also has the commuter lounge with coke and candy machines and an eating area.
NIU's Huskie Bucks system can make eating faster and easier for you. After a sum of money has been deposited onto your student ID card, the money can then be used for eating in the Holmes Student Center and the university residence halls. The Huskie Bucks work like a credit card system, so that you swipe your ID instead of dealing with cash-handling.
This page is maintained by:
Office of Orientation and Campus Information
DeKalb, IL 60115
phone: 815/753-1535
fax: 815/753-7480
email: [email protected]
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