Record number of Rockford Promise Scholars earn Rockford University honors
A record number of Rockford Promise Scholars earned recognition for academic performance and were included on Rockford University’s honors list for the fall semester.
In the fall, eight Rockford Promise Scholars made Rockford University’s Distinguished Scholar List. To make that list, students must have taken at least 12 credit hours and earned a 3.75 grade point average or higher. An additional five Scholars were named to the Dean’s List, an honor reserved for students achieving a 3.25 GPA to 3.75.
In all, 13 of the 22 Scholars attending RU made the honors lists, the best showing yet in terms of the number of Scholars earning honors. Rockford Promise first began giving full-tuition scholarships for students to attend RU in 2016. The chart below shows the number of scholars enrolled at RU each semester since and how many made the honors lists.
| Semester | Scholars Enrolled | Dist. Scholar | Dean’s List | Total Honors |
| Fall 2016 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Spring 2017 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Fall 2017 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Spring 2018 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Fall 2018 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Spring 2019 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fall 2019 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Spring 2020 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Fall 2020 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Spring 2021 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Fall 2021 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 13 |
The data shows that Rockford Promise’s partnership with Rockford University continues to deepen both in numbers and in the success of the students. All Rockford Promise Scholars at RU have either graduated or continue to work towards graduation.
“We believe that this 100% retention rate is due to the mentorship provided by Rockford Promise coupled with the various academic and co-curricular support services that we offer,” said Eric Fulcomer, president of Rockford University, which is celebratings its 175th anniversary. “Our partnership with Rockford Promise is improving the lives of these students and is positively impacting their families and our community.”
Rockford Promise continues to extend its reach, proving more full-tuition scholarships and Scholar support to RPS graduates each year. In 2021-2022, community donors, including the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, fully funded the 2021 cohort of Scholars attending RVC, a total of 63 students. Rockford Promise had 171 students active at all three institutions at the start of the 2021-2022 school year and 51 earned honors in the first semester.
With the growing number of Rockford Promise applications for all three higher education partners, Rockford Promise needs additional volunteer mentors to support Scholars. For more information about becoming a Rockford Promise mentor and supporting the 2022-2023 cohort of Scholars, please visit www.rockfordpromise.org, email contact.us@RockfordPromise.org or call 815-627-0491.
