College of Business Administration to offer business analytics program

            Big data. Business analytics. Data analytics. Behavioral analytics. Companies are collecting volumes of data like never before, about everything from customer shopping habits to how people use the Internet to other aspects of life. Managers need to know how to analyze customer behavior -- though the amount of data can be overwhelming.

            The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Business Administration is offering a solution to this problem by launching four business analytics courses starting in January. The four courses, offered online, will prepare business leaders to solve specific business problems by analyzing big data.

            "The business analytics program is ideal for business professionals who want to be able to make better business decisions based on understanding the data available to them," said Donde Plowman, James J. and Susan Stuart Endowed Dean of the College of Business Administration. "Students in the certificate program will have a definite competitive edge."

            Students enrolled in master's programs at UNL could add the business analytics courses to their curriculum and earn a minor. Current MBA students would earn a specialization in business analytics.

            Business professionals not enrolled at UNL could earn a certificate in business analytics, pending approval by the Coordinating Committee for Post-Secondary Education. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the program on Nov. 15 and advanced it to the committee for consideration.

            The curriculum for the business analytics program includes:

• Graduate Business 851: Business Analytics (offered in January): Broad understanding and knowledge of important business analytic topics and how they can be used to support decision-making in all business areas, government, education and agriculture.
• Economics 817: Intro to Econometrics (offered in March): An introduction to basic econometric methods, including economic model estimation and analyses of economic data.
• Marketing 850: Strategic Database Marketing (offered in July): Theory and strategic use of large marketing databases.
• Management 853: Data Mining Applications (offered in October): Application of quantitative analysis to support managers in identifying actionable information from large amounts of data.

            The program is designed to be completed in one year. Students must complete the graduate business and economics courses prior to taking the marketing and management courses. It is recommended to start the program in January and progress through the curriculum in order.

            For more information, contact CBA Graduate Programs at 402-472-2338 or visit the business analytics website at http://cba.unl.edu/programs/business-analytics.