NIU Today

Companies are increasingly turning to credit scores as a way of flagging potentially troublesome employees, but there is little data to support that the practice works, says Northern Illinois University researcher Shannon Taylor. “People are basing these hiring decisions on their gut instinct as to what these scores mean. There is no statistical data measuring...

The Department of Computer Science at Northern Illinois University is partnering with Lextech Global Services to offer a series of courses that will teach students how to write apps for the iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and other mobile-device platforms. The five-course program—with one course devoted to each of the three smartphones and two comprehensive courses...

Northern Illinois University has furthered its commitment to enhancing broadband opportunities for under-served Illinois residents by acting as a third-party evaluation consultant for a federally funded high-speed Internet project. “Getting Illinois Low Income Seniors and People with Disabilities Online Demonstration Project” provides Internet connectivity and training to 23 public housing facilities across northern Illinois. The...

The Regional History Center at NIU is inviting the public to a grand opening reception for its exhibit: “BUY LOCAL: The evolution of advertising in northern Illinois commerce.” Beginning Monday, Oct. 3, the exhibit will be located in the Founders Memorial Library foyer. A reception to mark the grand opening will be held from 4...

Rockford is one of 20 U.S. cities that have won a federal Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge grant. A grant totaling $2.4 million has been awarded to a collaborative made up of Northern Illinois University, Rock Valley College, the Rockford Area Economic Development Council and EIGERlab to accelerate job creation and innovation for small and...

NIU students, faculty and staff members have an opportunity to put their driving skills to the test from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in the Convocation Center parking lot as part of the Ford Focus Test Drive’s Laser Hunt Challenge. The winner of this precision driving competition will earn bragging rights, but...

The City of DeKalb is encouraging members of the community, including all NIU students and employees, to participate in an online survey to help determine what new businesses would most appeal to them as consumers. Part of a marketing strategy to attract new commerce to the area, the results of the survey will influence the...

NIU marketing professor Robert Peterson is a big believer in learning by doing – and he is not afraid to put his money where his mouth is. “In the past, I have loaned each of my students $20 for 10 weeks and told them to create a product or service, sell it and make as...

The Northern Illinois University College of Business has once again secured a position on Bloomberg-Businessweek’s list of best undergraduate business schools. The college moved up 10 spots from last year to No. 84. Only 139 of 579 accredited business schools in the country were invited to participate in the ranking process. This is the fifth year of...

Professors across the nation have once again rated NIU’s Department of Accountancy among the elite in the nation. The Public Accounting Report’s 29th Annual Professor’s Survey, ranked NIU’s undergraduate program eighth (up 12 spots from last year) and its graduate program 10th (up 10 spots from last year) in the nation. Inclusion in the rankings places...