Education
Augustana College is a short one-hour drive from Sterling, Illinois and offers students options for a four-year degree. Augustana College is a liberal arts college offering 90 majors/areas of study. The campus is located along the Mississippi River and is currently home to 2,500 students.
Western Illinois University’s Quad Cities campus in Moline, Illinois, is less than one-hour from Sterling and has been voted “Best Midwestern College” for 18 consecutive years. WIU-QC offers 48 programs of study, including an array of engineering and business majors.
Sterling, Illinois is less than 110 miles away from the closest campus of the renowned University of Illinois System – University of Illinois Chicago – and right at an hour from the closest regional programs in the Quad Cities and Rockford, Illinois.
- University of Illinois Chicago (110 miles)
- University of Illinois Springfield (160 miles)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne (180 miles)
Across the UIS system, over 24,000 students graduate annually. The UIS system boasts a 79% graduation rate, which is 16% higher than the national average of 63%. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne has over 52,000 students enrolled in more than 250 programs while offering online programs to over 3.2 million students.
Sauk Valley Community College has over 2,000 full- and part-time students and offers coursework in agriculture, behavioral science and social sciences, business, computer information systems, education, health and safety, STEM, manufacturing technology, wind generation, and humanities/communications/fine arts. SVCC provides transfer degree majors, career-technical degrees, certifications, and adult continuing education classes.
In 2017, Forbes ranked Morrison Tech as a “Top 30 Vocational School”. Morrison Tech is the Premier Engineering Technology and Network Administration College in the Midwest. Their hands-on educational approach allows students to learn by doing while developing the skills needed for success. A key pipeline of engineering students graduate from Morrison Tech and go on to work in key positions across the region.
The recently completed Morrison Tech Innovation Center includes cutting-edge additive manufacturing equipment, robotics and electronics labs, a construction technology lab, traditional manufacturing equipment, wood working and metal working equipment, welding equipment, and casting space.
Sterling Public Schools serves over 3,500 students in grades pre-K through 12.
- East Coloma School District 12
- Erie Community Unit School District 1
- Montmorency Community School District 145
- Morrison Community Unit School District 6
- Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Community Unit School District 3
- River Bend Community Unit School District 2
- Riverdale School District 14
- Rock Falls Elementary School District 13
- Rock Falls Township High School District 301
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Augustana College
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University of Illinois System
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Western Illinois University
Augustana College is a short one-hour drive from Sterling, Illinois and offers students options for a four-year degree. Augustana College is a liberal arts college offering 90 majors/areas of study. The campus is located along the Mississippi River and is currently home to 2,500 students.
Sterling, Illinois is less than 110 miles away from the closest campus of the renowned University of Illinois System – University of Illinois Chicago – and right at an hour from the closest regional programs in the Quad Cities and Rockford, Illinois.
- University of Illinois Chicago (110 miles)
- University of Illinois Springfield (160 miles)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne (180 miles)
Across the UIS system, over 24,000 students graduate annually. The UIS system boasts a 79% graduation rate, which is 16% higher than the national average of 63%. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne has over 52,000 students enrolled in more than 250 programs while offering online programs to over 3.2 million students.
Western Illinois University’s Quad Cities campus in Moline, Illinois, is less than one-hour from Sterling and has been voted “Best Midwestern College” for 18 consecutive years. WIU-QC offers 48 programs of study, including an array of engineering and business majors.
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Sauk Valley Community College
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Morrison Tech
Sauk Valley Community College has over 2,000 full- and part-time students and offers coursework in agriculture, behavioral science and social sciences, business, computer information systems, education, health and safety, STEM, manufacturing technology, wind generation, and humanities/communications/fine arts. SVCC provides transfer degree majors, career-technical degrees, certifications, and adult continuing education classes.
In 2017, Forbes ranked Morrison Tech as a “Top 30 Vocational School”. Morrison Tech is the Premier Engineering Technology and Network Administration College in the Midwest. Their hands-on educational approach allows students to learn by doing while developing the skills needed for success. A key pipeline of engineering students graduate from Morrison Tech and go on to work in key positions across the region.
The recently completed Morrison Tech Innovation Center includes cutting-edge additive manufacturing equipment, robotics and electronics labs, a construction technology lab, traditional manufacturing equipment, wood working and metal working equipment, welding equipment, and casting space.
Sterling Public Schools serves over 3,500 students in grades pre-K through 12.
- East Coloma School District 12
- Erie Community Unit School District 1
- Montmorency Community School District 145
- Morrison Community Unit School District 6
- Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Community Unit School District 3
- River Bend Community Unit School District 2
- Riverdale School District 14
- Rock Falls Elementary School District 13
- Rock Falls Township High School District 301
The Whiteside Area Career Center’s student body is made up of over 600 high school juniors and seniors from Whiteside and four surrounding counties (Bureau, Ogle, Lee, and Carroll) enrolled in one of its 12 programs:
- Allied Health
- Automotive Technology
- Building Trades
- CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities)
- Computer Technology
- Cosmetology
- Criminal Justice
- Culinary Arts
- Digital Media Arts
- Early Childhood Education
- Health Occupations (CNA)
- Welding and Manufacturing Technology
Students Participating in a CEO Session courtesy of wacc-ceo.com
Whiteside Area Career Center’s CEO program teaches young people the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and encourages them to be responsible, enterprising individuals.
The CEO program immerses students in real life learning experiences, learning how to recognize opportunity, take risks, manage results, and learn from outcomes alongside community business professionals. The program’s students become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers and contribute to economic development and sustainable communities in the future.
