Rockford Proxy
Quickly access resources off-campus through the Rockford University proxy.
Proxy Bookmarklet
Whenever you are on a site that requires licensed access, click on the "Rockford proxy" bookmarklet. You will be asked to login, and then redirected to the "proxified" version of the site.
What is OpenAthens?
OpenAthens provides a simple and secure way for students, faculty, and staff at Rockford University to connect to academic resources from anywhere in the world. After signing in with your Rockford account, you’ll have full access to the university’s licensed content—without needing to use a VPN or change device settings.
Why use OpenAthens?
Due to licensing agreements with publishers, most of Rockford University’s online academic content is limited to authorized users. OpenAthens bridges the gap by verifying your identity and granting access from anywhere, without requiring you to connect through the university’s internal network.
What’s the difference between EZproxy, OpenAthens, and VPN?
While all three systems—EZproxy, OpenAthens, and VPN—help extend access to university resources beyond the campus, they differ in how they authenticate users. EZproxy relies on IP masking to make remote users appear to be on campus. OpenAthens uses a modern, federated identity system to verify individual users through single sign-on. VPNs route your entire internet connection through the university's network, which can offer broader access but may also slow down your connection or raise security concerns for non-academic browsing.
Quick access to popular databases and journals
- NCBI PubMed
- SCOPUS
- Web of Science
- Nature
- Science
- IEEE Xplore Digital Library
- ScienceDirect
- Engineering Village
- ProQuest databases
- UpToDate