Your Account


The first step to getting started in Blackboard is to ensure that your NIU issued AcountID has been created and that you are able to successfully login to Novell. An AccountID  is assigned to you when you are hired as an employee, and it is cancelled after you leave NIU. The AccountID for all NIU faculty and staff hired after 2005 begins with the letter "A", followed by 7 digits. Students are issued a similar ID, called a Z-ID, that begins with the letter "Z".

Lookup Your AccountID

  1. Go to directory.niu.edu
  2. Look up the name.
  3. Select the name. A new window will open.


NIU passwords are used by faculty, staff and students to access Blackboard, Novell servers and drives (for example, the H: drive), computer labs, WebCRMA and Cascade Server, student MVS access, dialing in to NIU's Internet service from off campus, FTP access to Novell user volumes, and student e-mail.  This password expires every 365 days. 

To change or reset your NIU password:

  1. Go to password.niu.edu
  2. Enter your current Account ID and password.
  3. Click Change Password.
  4. Type in your new desired password, then click Change Password.

Create a secure password - see Building a Better Password.

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Last Updated: 05/07/2015