Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Rockford University

Rockford, Illinois·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·rockford.edu
6-yr Graduation
47%
-13.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Total enrollment
1,241
peer median 2,570
Avg net price
$22,436
+$2.2k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersIR OfficeDocumentsGrantsAlumni

About

Rockford University is a private university in Rockford, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name to Rockford College in 1892, and to Rockford University in 2013.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
1,721
1,721 candidates competed
Admitted
1,599
92.9% acceptance rate
Enrolled
214
13.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
47%-13.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
4-year graduation
34%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
47%
Full-time retention
65%

Pell equity

18.7pp gap
Pell recipients
56%48 of 86
Non-Pell (all)
37%28 of 75
Subsidized loan, no Pell
26%12 of 46
No Federal Aid
55%16 of 29

Pell recipients here graduate at a 18.7-point higher rate than non-Pell students, unusual and worth a closer look.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 62 Title IV programs, 5 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 57 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
62
Passing
5
8.1% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

62programs
  • Passing5 · 8.1%
  • No Data57 · 91.9%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
5
No data
57

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

5
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
+34.0%
$46,642 vs $34,808
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+34.4%
$46,780 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+43.5%
$90,776 vs $63,250
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+81.9%
$63,331 vs $34,808
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+102.6%
$70,537 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

4
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
65%
$30,375 debt · $46,642 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
57%
$26,600 debt · $46,780 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
38%
$26,910 debt · $70,537 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
31%
$19,375 debt · $63,331 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1913Next review Aug 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 5

  1. Aug 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
  2. Sep 2023Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Warning
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
  3. May 2022Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
  4. Mar 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
  5. Aug 2016Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$20,877
$30–48k$20,841
$48–75k$22,987
$75–110k$21,229
$110k+$27,097

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$22,436
+$2,220vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs median $20,216
Federal loans
57.1%
In-state tuition
$37,780
Out-of-state
$37,780

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 599 students received $3.5M in Pell grants, alongside $7.8M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
599
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.5M
$3,457,101 total
Direct Loans
$7.8M
1,355 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
1k
’23
1k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$2.2M
548 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.1M
580 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$916K
62 loan awards
Parent PLUS$2.6M
162 loan awards
Grad PLUS$40K
3 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 385 borrowers who entered repayment, 7 (1.8%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.8%
-0.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
385
Defaulted
7
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
6.5%
2017
6.9%
2018
7.9%
2019
1.8%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Rockford

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs57
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

315 total completions
01Education
9630.5%
02Business
7824.8%
03Parks/Recreation
299.2%
04Health Professions
299.2%
05Computer Sciences
247.6%
06Social Sciences
227.0%
07Visual/Performing Arts
134.1%
08Family/Consumer Sci
103.2%
09Biological Sciences
92.9%
10English Language
51.6%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
1,241
12-mo unduplicated
1,515
Undergraduate
1,172
Graduate
343

Gender split

Men
43%654
Women
57%861

Race / ethnicity composition

White
41.9%
Hispanic
22.8%
Black
17.7%
Non-resident
7.7%
Two or more
3.7%
Asian
3.0%
Unknown
2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
332
231 M · 101 W
Women athletes
30.4%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$2.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$14K
$8K
Head-coach salaries
$49K
$32K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 10

Football
101 M · —
$426K
Baseball
54 M · —
$310K
Soccer
33 M · 20 W
$166K
Basketball
27 M · 13 W
$354K
Volleyball
11 M · 20 W
$179K
Softball
— · 26 W
$121K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
1.60
2 offenses · 1,249 students

3-year trend

2.442 yrs ago4.231 yr ago1.60Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
10
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
10
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
1
Motor vehicle theft
1

By location

2total
  • On campus2

Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
2
Stalking
3 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons10
Drugs13
Liquor06

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
10.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
68

Rockford vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Rockford selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectRockford University
47%—1,241$22,436Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Augustana College
73%62.7%2,570$22,736Baccalaureate
Aurora University
60%80.9%5,923$18,838Doctoral/Professional
Benedictine University
50%95.2%2,917$22,313Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Blackburn College
57%63.2%513$18,460Baccalaureate
Carroll University
71%66.8%3,138$15,193Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Carthage College
64%87.1%2,844$26,565Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Concordia University-Chicago
36%92.8%4,770$18,436Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Dominican University
55%90.3%3,803$11,745Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Edgewood College
60%75.7%2,459$26,113Doctoral/Professional
Elmhurst University
70%73.6%3,997$24,185Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Eureka College
41%85.0%527$17,349Baccalaureate
Loras College
68%99.9%1,189$20,716Baccalaureate
Monmouth College
65%90.9%713$17,133Baccalaureate
North Central College
64%77.3%3,003$21,044Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
North Park University
58%68.5%2,557$16,948Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Ripon College
63%79.8%709$20,216Baccalaureate
Peer group median60%80.3%2,570$20,216

Institutions like Rockford

Explore the federal data for institutions in Rockford's comparison group.

IPEDS

Rockford Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Research
Phone
815-226-4000
Address
5050 East State Street, Rockford, IL 61108

The page for Institutional Research at Rockford University provides navigation links but lacks specific information about the office's mission, leadership, or contact details. The physical address is listed, and a team page URL is available, but no direct data request or factbook URLs are mentioned.

Visit IR office page

Reports & documents (2)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Grants & funding (2)

Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.

USA Spending

Notable alumni of Rockford (4)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Jane Addams
    Social Work
  • Julia Lathrop
    Social Work
  • Ellen Gates Starr
    Social Work
  • Jeannette Howard Foster
    Library Science

Frequently asked questions about Rockford University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Rockford.

What is the graduation rate at Rockford University?

Rockford University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 47% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Rockford University?

Rockford University reports a total enrollment of 1,241 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Rockford University?

The average net price at Rockford University is $22,436 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Rockford University?

Rockford University's yield rate is 13.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Rockford University located?

Rockford University is located in Rockford, Illinois 61108-2311.

Who runs Institutional Research at Rockford University?

Rockford University's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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