Short Course
Applied Analytics: Essential Tools and Techniques
Apply business analytics tools and modeling techniques to uncover insights, predict outcomes, and guide strategy.
Current Offerings
Overview
Who Should Attend
This course is ideal for individual contributors at all levels, from frontline workers wrangling data and presenting insights and options to decision-makers up to organizational leaders wanting a firmer grasp of the tools and techniques that drive the analytical products and results they consume in support of fact-based decision-making.
Program Benefits
Improve your ability to:
Understand descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics
Frame business problems, decisions, constraints, and data needs
Acquire, clean, and prepare data for analysis
Apply analytics techniques including visualization, regression, optimization, and decision trees
Translate analytical results into actionable, data-driven recommendations
Program Content
Identify and acquire data from various sources
Explore, clean, and prepare data for analysis
Create data visualizations and derive meaningful insights
Apply statistical techniques to identify outliers in data sets
Track performance through Statistical Process Control
Use samples to make inferences about data populations
Identify useful predictors from available data
Apply statistical techniques to predict numerical quantities
Apply statistical techniques to predict quantities that change over time
Apply statistical techniques to predict categorical data
Evaluate the performance of prediction models
Formulate and solve optimization problems to determine best courses of action
Formulate and solve decision problems given uncertain information
Apply decision tree analysis to determine outcome scenarios
Faculty
Christopher J. Solo, Ph.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Supply Chain Management, Smeal College of Business
Dr. Solo teaches supply chain management, business analytics, and information systems at Penn State. A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, he served more than 21 years in intelligence, acquisition, and operations research and taught statistics, optimization, and decision analysis at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Rashmi Sharma, Ph.D.
Associate Clinical Professor of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Smeal College of Business
Dr. Sharma teaches business analytics and supply chain management at Penn State and directs the . Before entering academia, she spent a decade in industry leading the development of logistics, work-order management, and business intelligence software.
Professional Certificate
Earn an Analytics Professional Certificate
Gain broader analytics expertise while earning a credential that reflects your continued professional development. Complete three qualifying programs to earn an Analytics Professional Certificate, taking programs in any order and over time to fit your goals and schedule.
Customize this Program
All programs and delivered to groups of 10 or more. A member of our team will reach out to discuss your goals and explore the right fit for your group. You can also reach us directly at 800-311-6364.
Additional Information
Our Learning Solutions Associate can hold a seat for you in the program. A reservation does not commit you until you submit the online registration form. To reserve your spot, email our office.
A 10% reduced rate on live remote delivery is available to military and government employees, Penn State alumni, individuals pursuing a professional certificate, teams of three or more from the same organization, and CSCR corporate sponsors or affiliated groups.
Yes. This program can count toward a . Complete three qualifying programs at your own pace to earn the certificate. Note: Each program can only count toward one certificate.
After you register, you’ll gain access to your personal learning portal. There, you’ll find pre-program assignments, information about faculty and fellow participants, plus other program resources.
Accepted applicants can transfer to another section if the transfer is arranged more than four weeks before the program begins. Additional transfers are subject to a charge of 10% of the current program fee. A sponsoring company may also identify a replacement candidate, provided the candidate is accepted into the program.
Refunds are based on when written notice of withdrawal is received:
More than six weeks before the program begins: Full refund
Between two and six weeks before the program begins: 50% refund
Two weeks or less before the program begins: No refund
All withdrawals, transfers, and substitutions must be confirmed in writing by the registered participant or their agent. If written notification is not received, the full program fee will be assessed.
Penn State may cancel or postpone a program due to insufficient enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances. If a program is canceled, registration fees will be refunded; however, Penn State is not responsible for other related expenses, including airline or travel agency cancellation or change fees. If a program is postponed, you may receive a refund or transfer your program fee to another session.
If you have questions about transfers or cancellations, please contact us.