Frequently Asked Questions

The Certificate, with your concentration of choice, consists of 6 courses.  Completion time is 6 to 12 months depending on the number of courses you take each session.

The Accelerated Business Management Degree consists of 124 required credit hours for graduation.  Completion time is 18 to 34 months depending on the number of courses you take each session and your transferable credits.  You are able to apply previous college credits and RU Certificate credits towards the degree.

Apply to the Accelerated Business Management Bachelor’s Degree.  All RU Certificate credits will count towards your degree along with other previous, transferable college credit, giving you a head start toward completing your bachelor degree.  All of the Accelerated Business Management Bachelor’s Degree courses are online in the same format as the Certificate program.

Complete the online BSMS application, , request official transcripts from all colleges or universities previously attended, and pay the $35 application fee.

Send all electronic and physical admission documents to Adult Accelerated & Graduate Admission. 

By email: accelerated@rockford.edu 

By mail: Rockford University Adult & Graduate Admission
                5050 E State St.
                Rockford, IL 61108

No, the application fee is not connected to the online application. You are able to pay the fee at any time in the admission process to Student Administrative Services (SAS) at 815-226-3333 or 815-226-4062.

Rockford University has rolling admission.  There is no set deadline prior to the semester start to submit your admission materials.  You will, however, need to be admitted before the first day of classes of your starting semester.

Tuition for the 2019-2020 academic year is $385 per credit hour for Auto Alert employees.  Auto Alert employees are granted a special 15% corporate discount rate through the partnership between Rockford University and Auto Alert.

Rockford University will defer your tuition payment until after you have completed the semester to allow time for your employer to reimburse you. Deferment is limited to reimbursable tuition costs. This does not include registration fees and textbook costs, which are not eligible for deferment, even though you may receive reimbursement for these costs.  Please visit the RU website for more FAQs about tuition deferment. 

All online classes within our Certificate and Accelerated Business Management Bachelor’s programs are asynchronous with no scheduled class meeting times. This will give you flexibility to schedule around work, family, and friends to complete your education.  Lectures, assignments, and any supporting materials will be posted at the beginning of the week and you will have until the end of the week to complete work. However, students may be given the opportunity to meet in groups online.

You may be miles from campus, but you will still receive the same advising experience as our local students.  To set up an advising appointment, you will email the advisor to request an appointment.  The advisor will send you a Zoom link for your advising session.  Zoom allows you to share your screen with the advisor and interact through audio conferencing.

Visit the Virtual Writing Center.  It is designed as a digital version of our on-campus Writing Center.  The Writing Center is a place to talk about your writing. We believe that we become better writers when we seek feedback and reflect on our writing at all stages of the writing process.  Simply complete the online form, attaching your writing sample, and you will receive feedback in 48 hours.

Follow the Puri School of Business on Twitter at @PuriSchool to learn about our students, programs, faculty, and our interactions with the business community. Subscribe to the PSoB on YouTube at Rockford University Puri School of Business.  This YouTube channel provides short help videos for using systems such as Canvas, Excel, and Google forms.

Check out your Canvas page.  Your questions may be answered in the Canvas Student Orientation tutorials.  If not, contact the following RU staff:

• For Certificate and Accelerated Business Management Bachelor’s Degree program questions, please contact Dr. Mandolen Mull at mmull@rockford.edu or (815) 226-4095.
• For Master of Business Administration program questions, please contact Luis Romero at lromero@rockford.edu or (815) 226-4046.
• For Admission questions, contact Lisa Blakeley-Snyder at accelerated@rockford.edu or (815) 226-4040.