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Northern Illinois University

Teaching with Blackboard

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Find More Information FAQ

View answers to frequently asked questions asked by NIU faculty and staff.

AccountID

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 www.accountid.niu.edu.
  2. Click Look up.
  3. Enter your last name in the Last Name field (you may have to scroll down to see this field).
  4. Click the Next button - you'll see your name and your Z-ID / AccountID.

Password

NIU passwords are used by faculty, staff and students to access Blackboard, Novell servers and drives (for example, the H: drive), computer labs, WebCRMA, student MVS access, dialing in to NIU's Internet service from off campus, FTP access to Novell user volumes, and student e-mail (not Groupwise e-mail).  This password expires every 130 days. 

To change or reset your NIU password:

  1. Go to http://password.niu.edu.
  2. Click Change Your Password to change your password,
    or Click Reset Your Password to reset your password.
  3. Enter your Z-ID / AccountID in the AccountID field, or your last name in the Last Name field.
  4. Click the Next button.
  5. Click your Z-ID / AccountID under the User Object column corresponding to your name.
  6. Enter your old password in the Old Password field and your new password in the New Password and Verify Password fields.
  7. Click the Submit button.

Create a secure password - see Selecting Passwords for Your NIU Accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions FAQ


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Are you looking for more information related to getting started teaching with Blackboard? Review the answers to frequently asked questions asked by NIU faculty and staff regarding getting started teaching with Blackboard. Also, consider attending an upcoming Blackboard workshop.

Last Updated: 05/13/2008