Rockford Sun

A new partnership between several Rockford organizations and key community members will provide free tuition to qualifying students attending Northern Illinois University.

The partnership between the mayor, Rockford Public Schools, Rockford Promise and the university targets learners attending RPS 205, Northern Illinois said in a release.

The initiative expands on Rockford Promise's program that has provided more than $1 million in scholarships to students since 2006 to attend Rock Valley College or Rockford University, according to the Northern Illinois University release.

Under the expanded program, qualifying students can have the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree from NIU with all tuition and general fees paid by Rockford Promise and NIU.

Qualifying students must be Rockford residents who attended RPS 205 all four years of high school and graduated with at least a cumulative 3.0-grade point average on a 4.0 scale, according to the release. All students currently enrolled at an RPS 205 high school are eligible for the program without the four-year attendance requirement.

The proposed partnership will now head to the governing boards at NIU, RPS 205, Rockford Promise, and the City of Rockford to be considered for final approval.