Education

Buchanan County, Iowa is not only the location for expanding business, local school districts are also expanding educational facilities and resources to give local students quality education to fuel a prosperous future.  Buchanan County Schools and their educators are forward thinkers and participate in many opportunities to tie education to the workforce such as participating in the Iowa STEM Externship program and Future Ready Iowa initiatives.

The Hawkeye Community College Center which is located in the Independence Junior/Senior High School is continually expanding the classes they offer for college credit to area high school students. These are offered along with business and community education courses for local residents including welding and CNC Machining training. Besides Hawkeye Community College there are seven additional higher education institutions, two include state universities, University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and University of Iowa in Iowa City, within a 30-60 minute drive of the county seat, Independence.

At the PK-12 education level, Buchanan County houses sections of eight school districts with modernized facilities so the children of the communities can prepare for their futures effectively. The county is also served by religious-based parochial schools. Each school district is continually striving to create programs that will contribute to the students’ future endeavors by preparing them for their professional lives.

Higher Education within 60 Minutes

Location

Distance

Enrollment

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls

40

 11,905

Hawkeye Community College

Waterloo

25

 5,531

University of  Iowa

Iowa City

60

 33,334

Upper Iowa University

Fayette

35

 5,444

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids

45

 14,745

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids

40

 1,886

Wartburg College

Waverly

50

 1,482

Coe College

Cedar Rapids

40

 1,409