Business analytics students gain career advantage with new SAS Analytics specialization

***Release originally issued by Oakland University***

A new partnership with SAS, a worldwide leader in analytics software, gives business analytics students at Oakland University access to a valuable suite of resources and a competitive advantage in the job market. Through the collaboration, Oakland business students can earn a Tier 2 SAS Academic Specialization as part of their degree program.

With analytical talent in short supply and high demand, this means Oakland University students have another avenue to fully prepare for or advance in a career in analytics.

The specialization recognizes the ability to leverage leading SAS analytical tools for statistical analysis, data mining, forecasting, machine learning, text mining, and visual data analytics. By earning badges towards certification, students can position themselves for careers in advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, criminal investigation, and predictive analytics to knowledge and skills to advance in their careers.

As part of the program, Oakland students can access free SAS software, attend expert presentations and access special webinars.

“With so many companies using SAS for analytics, this skill set will be valuable for students seeking a career in analytics,” says Vijayan Sugumaran, chair, decision and information sciences, Distinguished Professor, management information systems, and co-director of OU’s Center for Data Science and Big Data Analytics. “The digital badge students earn is a tangible way for them to demonstrate experience in using SAS tools, giving them a real edge in the job market.”

Awarded badges can be used on the recipient’s resume or CV, LinkedIn profile, website, social media or other career-related materials.

Criteria for SAS Tier 2 Academic Specialization

Students in the following programs can earn badges as they complete the necessary requirements in courses that incorporate SAS specialization requirements:

• BS in Management Information Systems,
• MS in IT Management with Business Analytics concentration, and
• Business Analytics minor.

Required courses (9 credits) to earn the SAS Analytics Specialization badge:

• MIS 4560/MIS 5560 Introduction to Data Science (3 credits)
• MIS 4900/MIS 6900 Special Topics: Deep Learning and Text Analytics (3 credits)
• QMM 4520/QMM 5520 Forecasting (3 credits)

Students must:

• demonstrate a clear understanding of the value of SAS Analytics specialization
• have at least one graded assignment with applied SAS usage per course
• at least nine credit hours of required courses that use SAS in each course at least 50 percent of the time.
• complete a project using SAS

For more information on the OU SAS Academic Specialization, contact Dr. Sugumaran at sugumara@oakland.edu.