RockiesU

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Maximize Your Impact During Your Career and Beyond

7-week courses begin April 30th – Apply by April 15th!
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Maximize Your Impact During Your Career and Beyond

7-week courses begin April 30th – Apply by April 15th!

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An Online Learning Community Created Just For You

A partnership of the Colorado Rockies and Abilene Christian University, RockiesU provides an accessible and advanced approach to online learning created for professional baseball players determined to pursue their education toward an accredited bachelor’s or master’s degree. 

  • Direct bill means no up-front costs to you (for Rockies draft/signees with CEP or CSP)
  • 100% online with flexibility to work around your schedule
  • Taught by ACU faculty, Rockies staff, and executive guest speakers
  • Dedicated advisors to ensure credit transfers, ease of application, and course selection

Player Pathway Courses

RockiesUCultivating a unique set of courses totaling 24 credit hours, RockiesU is divided into four Player Pathway Course Blocks with classes dedicated to leadership, performance, and communication. 

Step up to the plate. Courses begin April 30th.

Player Pathway Block One

Earn the RockiesU Badge in Leadership & Social Perspectives
Dates: April 30 – June 17, 2024

RockiesU Block 1 badge

 

Course: Leadership Development

A one-of-a-kind approach to leadership development and personal growth, the RockiesU Leadership Development course builds off the passion and perspective of our players, staff, and environment to help you drive change on an individual, organizational, and team level. Explore fresh ways of connecting, supporting, inspiring, and empowering yourself and others.

Course: History of Baseball

The RockiesU History of Baseball course examines the history of baseball in America by studying how baseball has shaped American society and vice versa. A special unit on the history of the Colorado Rockies concludes this course.

Player Pathway Block Two

Earn the RockiesU Badge in Multicultural Communication & Team Leadership

Dates: June 25 – August 12, 2024

RockiesU Block 2 badge

Course: Multicultural Communication

Diving into how interpersonal interactions impact others on-and-off the field, the RockiesU Multicultural Communication course will help you develop strategies for overcoming social blind spots, adapting your communication style, and gathering the tools needed to communicate effectively in a multicultural environment.

Course: Teams & Team Leadership

An analysis of the factors contributing to the success of teams in complex organizations; focusing on team selection, development, training, and evaluation. Learners will develop skills through team building, and by leading in simulations and team projects.

Other Options with RockiesU

RockiesU

Start your Educational Journey or Complete Your College Degree

RockiesU allows players to take exclusive and accredited courses at their own pace alongside their teammates, without interfering with their commitments, training, or regular season calendar. Players can enroll in the Player Pathway courses or the bachelor’s or master’s degree program of their choosing. Seats fill on a first-come, first-filled basis. Early application is encouraged.

Undergraduate Programs Graduate Programs
RockiesU

Affordable and Accessible

Through this immersive, online program, RockiesU courses are offered with no up-front costs guaranteeing you have a simple enrollment process. 

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Newsweek Top Online Colleges 2024One of America’s Best Colleges

Recognized as one of America’s Top Online Colleges for the third consecutive year by Newsweek and Statista Inc., ACU proudly stands among the nation’s premier online institutions. Seamlessly combining a top-tier education with the flexibility of an online format, ACU Online offers you a transformative learning experience. Discover the perfect balance of academic excellence and online convenience as you chart your course to success with ACU.

ACU students on campus

In our more than 116 year history, Abilene Christian University’s commitment to and excellence in education has been recognized by numerous organizations and publications. ACU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Additionally, our online business programs have a second accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – held by only 5% of business schools.

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We believe the work our students do matters. It matters to the world, it matters to God. We are committed to the vocational formation of every student helping them understand and experience their work as meaningful, life-giving, and significant.

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If you’ve already started your bachelor’s degree and want to finish it, ACU’s transfer-friendly process makes it easy. You’ll receive a customized degree completion plan, streamlined enrollment and registration, and the support and resources you need to complete your degree – 100% online. A dedicated advisor will work with you to ensure any prior courses transfer toward your degree pursuit.

Frequently Asked Questions

About the Colorado Rockies and ACU Partnership

With the vision of further developing and educating individuals personally and professionally, the Colorado Rockies and Abilene Christian University have partnered to create RockiesU, a program dedicated to bringing educational benefits to Rockies players. RockiesU Player Pathway courses are designed to propel your learning and development on and off the field. Each block of classes spans seven weeks and contains two courses per block. The courses are offered online, with remote support, and include sport-centered content that integrate your learning and development.

Rockies players can access unique, customized content through RockiesU, allowing you to learn and advance your professional and leadership skills. Additionally, Colorado Rockies players can enroll in any of ACU’s 50 online degree programs. 

Student Experience at ACU

Rockies players are assigned a dedicated graduation team composed of an admissions advisor, student success advisor, financial specialist. If your education needs to extend beyond Player Pathway, in select courses an academic coach will walk alongside you through graduation. Additionally, all students have educational resources such as 24/7 tutoring, 24/7 tech support, 24/7 telehealth services (TimelyCare), subscription access to Grammarly.com, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, RightNow Media, ACU Career Services, and more.

Students in online degree programs should expect to spend 5 – 10 hours per week for one seven-week course and 10 – 20 hours per week for two seven-week courses. This may look different based on an individual’s needs in and out of the classroom.

Students with existing college credits that plan to enroll in one of ACU’s online degree programs can have an unofficial transcript evaluation completed before entering the program.

Applying to RockiesU

The ACU Online admissions team is ready to make sure all of your questions are answered and can even walk you through the application process. Contact one of our dedicated advisors or start your student profile now.

To be considered for admission, players should complete the following steps depending on which degree pathway they would like to pursue:

For Professional Development and Continuing Education Registration (including Player Pathway):

For Single Academic Courses:

For Undergraduate Level Programs:

  • Complete the online program application.
  • Submit official high school and/or college transcripts.
  • Have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above
  • Students are not required to submit ACT or SAT scores.
  • Graduation Requirements: Students must earn a 2.0 GPA or higher to meet graduation requirements and complete at least 33 advanced hours.
  • Please see additional information for specific requirements for international admission process here.

For Masters Level Programs:

  • Complete the online program application.
  • Submit official transcripts showing earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above; a probationary status may be granted for those with a 2.5 to 2.99 GPA.
  • Write a purpose statement addressing career goals and fit with the program
  • Submit a current resume.

Paying for RockiesU

MLB funds (where available) allow players to build a customized plan that minimizes direct costs and results in no upfront out-of-pocket costs.

For information regarding any further financial terms and conditions, players and their constituents can click here to learn any general contract details provided by the MLB. Note: You do not need to log into an account just to view the guidelines for the CSP or CEP.

MLB SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

Each player’s individual education plan will be outlined in their contract. Click here to learn any general contract details.

Players will build a plan with a dedicated financial specialist with no upfront cost. After the education benefit has been maximized, if a balance remains, the player will be responsible but have a 60-day deferment from the first day of class.

ACU will submit all required documentation for your coursework to your Benefits POC.