Fiat Analytics at Alfred University
The New York State Education Department has approved new Bachelor of Science degree programs in Data Analytics and Business Analytics at Alfred University beginning this fall. The programs will better position our students for professional success given the ever-growing importance of analytics expertise in today’s world.
Business Analytics is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and majors will take the same core courses as other business majors, plus a specialized set of analytics courses. Data Analytics is interdisciplinary in nature. Students will take the same set of analytics courses as Business Analytics majors, but instead of taking the core business courses, will also choose from a variety of specialized courses in areas such as art, biology, computer science, environmental science, geology, and mathematics.
Data and business analysts are in increasingly high demand. With applications across a wide spectrum of industries and organizations—from government and education to healthcare and business—careers as an analyst are plentiful. Shelly Freyn, professor of marketing, notes that according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, business and data analysts’ positions are poised to grow more than 10 percent faster than most other careers.
Mark Lewis, dean of our College of Business, observes: “As the world is more data-driven and the quantity of data being collected is growing exponentially, the jobs in data and business analytics are also growing exponentially. We hear from employer after employer that they are unable to find enough qualified people to fill their jobs. Alfred University is now in a position to prepare our students to move into these careers.”
A minor in Data Analytics, launched during the current 2019-20 academic year, was made possible by support from the Alfred University Academic Program Innovation Fund. The Fund, philanthropically created in 2018 by trustee Kevin Livingston ’93 and his wife, Hanh, aims to spur curricular innovation and enhance academic program offerings at our University. The minor in data analytics, and work toward implementing majors in the two new analytics degree programs this fall, represent one of the first investments from the Academic Program Innovation Fund. The Fund will also help launch a computer science bachelor’s degree program effective this fall.
More and more employers are relying on “Big Data” to promote efficiency, productivity, profitability, and well-being. Think, for example, how important analytics are to tracking and combating the COVID-19 outbreak that we are presently dealing with.
Please join me in thanking Kevin and Hanh Livingston for their pivotal and generous philanthropic support that has brought our Academic Program Innovation Fund to life and that will allow our students to better prepare for professional success through the rich and dynamic range of curricular offerings that Alfred University offers.
Fiat
analytics at Alfred University!
Mark