NIU Adds InScribe Platform for Up to 2,000 Online Students

InScribe has partnered with Northern Illinois University to introduce an engagement platform for up to 2,000 online students starting in fall 2026. NIU’s fully online enrollment has increased by roughly 7% each year since 2023, supported by a seven-person online learning team. The platform will be integrated into Blackboard, giving students one place to ask questions, share knowledge and connect with peers, mentors and university staff. The initiative supports NIU’s student success priority of engagement and belonging.

Support for Online Students

NIU brought online student support in-house in 2023 through its Office of Online Learning. The team runs prospective student support, orientation, newsletters, student advisory committees, retention campaigns, proactive outreach, webinars and one-on-one coaching.

InScribe will be available within Blackboard, rather than requiring students to use another separate channel.

Anna Richardson, Director of Online and Adult Learning at NIU, said:

“Our goals for this year include finding apps and ways to help students connect and build community. InScribe is a tool that can help us achieve this, and this partnership illustrates how NIU ties community and belonging to retention. We look forward to increased engagement and success for our students.”

Engagement as Infrastructure

Engagement and belonging is one of six pillars in NIU’s student success framework, alongside academics, inclusive excellence, care and support, financial literacy, and career development. The university’s 2026 goals include exploring apps that help students connect and build community.

Katy Kappler, CEO of InScribe, said:

“NIU wrote engagement and belonging into their student success framework as a named priority, not an afterthought. That’s rare. It tells you they already know what we know: this isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s one of the few retention levers a university can actually control.”

A Centralized Student Community

For students studying online, the platform is intended to create a centralized space for questions, resources and connections with the university community. The partnership extends NIU’s effort to build support infrastructure for students wherever they are learning from.