Northern Illinois University

Everything Technology Handbook

Privacy and Security of Information

NIU follows the rules associated with FERPA: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Read more about the confidentiality of student records at go.et.niu.edu/privacy

ITS takes a proactive stand in an effort to protect our computing community from identity theft and other potential exploits. We ensure that sufficient safeguards are in place to protect our resources and work to inform our customers about the importance of their own security practices.

NIU complies with audit requirements that are put in place to ensure proper security measures are taken. For example, we require an eight-character password that expires every 130 days.

Students may also take measures to protect the privacy and security of their own information:

  • Do not share passwords
  • In public areas, be aware that others can view personal information
  • Consider sources of e-mail, etc.

For more information about passwords and how to improve the security of student information, see Your NIU Student AccountID (Z-ID) and Password.