Course Overview for the Predictive Business Analytics Certificate, Northwestern University School of Professional Studies - Northwestern School of Professional Studies

Program Courses

To earn a certificate in Business Analytics, you must complete the three core courses (BUS_ANLY 201, BUS_ANLY 202, and BUS_ANLY 204).* There is no admissions process for the Certificate in Business Analytics. Start the path toward your certificate by registering for your first course below.

* Students who began the program prior to the fall 2021 term must complete four courses to earn their certificate: BUS_ANLY 201, BUS_ANLY 202, BUS_ANLY 203, and BUS_ANLY 204.

PDP courses are offered online, remotely, and on-campus. Please refer to the Schedule Notes for course delivery information.

IMPORTANT: The registration process for all professional development courses requires you to register for your course and update your emergency contact information in CAESAR, Northwestern University's Student Enterprise System.

Tips for Troubleshooting Registration

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENT*:

Registering for multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a mandatory, integrated step to access Northwestern University systems. Northwestern uses the DUO Mobile smartphone application for multi-factor authentication. Steps to install the DUO Mobile App can be found here. Once you have completed the MFA registration process, you will have access to systems like CAESAR and CANVAS, Northwestern’s Learning Management System.

*It is a student’s responsibility to ensure access to Northwestern systems after registering for a PDP course. If you do not have a smartphone capable of downloading and using the DUO Mobile app, you may want to consider a YubiKey that can be purchased from several online retailers.

Please contact pdp@northwestern.edu with any questions.

BUS_ANLY 201-DL : Intro to Business Analytics

Description

Data and analytics are a fundamental part of solving business and organizational problems. Mastering these practices requires a well-rounded introduction, regardless of whether you are performing the analysis or implementing the results. This class provides a solid foundation, beginning with basic data modeling principles and intelligent information. We then dive intohow to define business goals,various techniques for collecting and preparing data,different types of analysis and predictive models, and effective ways of communicating results.

Exploring many of the latest technology trends applicable to big data and predictive analytics is also part of the course. You will study actual use cases of providing a comprehensive, innovative, and practical approach to business analytics problems. We will examine strategies used to successfully approach stakeholders with analytic information while navigating the ethical, regulatory, and compliance issues related to the use of data analytics.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Use data analytics terminology and techniques in a business setting.
• Determine the proper methods for descriptive, prescriptive, and predictive analytics for business.
• Plan a data and predictive analytics project following typical industry project definitions.
• Explain the basic design concepts and methodologies for warehousing, preparation, and aggregation of data.
• Identify and account for regulatory, legal, and/or ethical considerations impacting data collection and business analytics.
• Appraise various analytical and technological solutions for different data conditions and business scenarios.
• Recommend ways of improving the use of data analytics processes and techniques in a corporate setting.
• Identify ways to incorporate AI technologies into business analytics.

Registered students can access their online course site here. An activated NetID and password is required for login. *Please note: It may take up to 24-hours for registered students to be added to the online course platform.

Northwestern University School of Professional Studies is recognized by SHRM to offer 24 Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® Recertification activities.