eCornell's New Data Analytics Certificate Equips Professionals to Translate Big Data into Actionable Business Insights

ITHACA, N.Y., May 31, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Data scientists and data analysts are hot commodities; they were ranked the #1 job in America for 2017 by Glassdoor and named the sexiest job of the 21st century by Harvard Business Review. Demand for these roles—and their intersecting skills in business, statistics, and programming—is driven by organizations swimming in data but hamstrung by a shortage of employees with the critical mindset needed to translate it into meaningful decisions. Yet educational institutions lag in preparing students for these jobs. To close the gap, Cornell University is now offering professionals the opportunity to earn an executive certificate in Data Analytics so they can build core fluency in data analysis and a foundation for further technical study.

"Data analysis requires professionals to be informed consumers of data. Technical knowledge is necessary, but it's actually even more valuable to know which questions to ask, how to ask them, test them, and translate them into business intelligence. Done well, data analysis provides a valid narrative business leaders can follow to make more successful strategic decisions," said Chris Anderson, Ph.D., the certificate's faculty author from Cornell University.

The Data Analytics certificate consists of three intensive courses that provide professionals with an essential understanding of how and why data is used to create value in business: Understanding and Visualizing Data, Implementing Scientific Decision-Making, and Using Predictive Data Analysis. Each three-week course builds the analytical mindset, starting with what data is, and moving into how to visualize data and build predictive models and reporting. Students strengthen their ability to connect data to decisions—learning how to make inferences about data samples and analyze relationships across data to predict future outcomes, with the option to use datasets from their own companies.

Courses offer step-by-step "How Tos" for all statistical processes and teach universal Excel-based analysis tools. From data visualization to predictive analytics, Professor Anderson combines accessible terminology with his wide-ranging experience in management science and statistics to teach skills that translate across software platforms.

The Data Analytics certificate is a critical credential for today's professionals across many industries, complementing many of eCornell's certificate programs in marketing, leadership, revenue management, and human resources. For students new to statistics, courses expose them to the fundamentals and remove barriers to getting started. Professionals with deeper statistical knowledge will learn to ground data in the language of business decisions, and current data analysts will enhance their ability to communicate with key audiences and make meaning out of data. Senior executives will also become more critical consumers of data, and better able to guide and manage analysts productively.

Students who complete the program receive an Executive Certificate from Cornell University and will earn 0.6 Professional Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for each course completed.

About eCornell
As Cornell University's online learning unit, eCornell delivers online professional certificate courses to individuals and organizations around the world. Courses are personally developed by Cornell faculty with expertise in a wide range of topics, including hospitality, management, marketing, human resources and leadership.  Students learn in an interactive, small cohort format to gain skills they can immediately apply in their organizations, ultimately earning a professional certificate from Cornell University. eCornell has offered online learning courses and certificate programs for 15 years to over 130,000 students at more than 2,000 companies.

Contact: Aubrie Dunn, 607-330-3200, [email protected]

SOURCE eCornell

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