Curriculum Development
One of the key deliverables of the Data Analytics Technician Advancement (DATA) project is the revitalization the existing curriculum content, and create new courses within the Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Science, Data Analytics and Information Systems track at Columbus State Community College. Using the Management Information Systems as a baseline for content, the plan of study is undergoing revision to include courses and content focus on data analytics related topics. The name of the program is being changed to Data Analytics and Information Systems, and courses in business intelligence and data analytics will be revised to reflect new content material. The revision of this curriculum is currently an ongoing process, and is anticipated to be finalized within the 2019-20 academic year.
Course Development
Course content for two existing computer science courses have been updated and revised to include course content specifically focusing on data analytics.
CSCI 2380- Business Intelligence Fundamentals
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: CSCI 1320 or CSCI 2325, STAT 1350 or STAT 1400
Class Hours per Week: Blended (2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week)
Business Intelligence Fundamentals introduces the student to the collection of computer
technologies and techniques that support managerial decision making. The course concentrates
on the theoretical and conceptual foundations of business intelligence for decision
support. Concepts covered are the need and role of business intelligence, data warehousing,
online transaction processing, working with unstructured data, data mining, working
with big data, and legal and ethical issues associated with business intelligence.
Students perform hands-on labs with commercial software and large databases provided
by real-world corporations.
Please see attached syllabus: CSCI 2380
In CSCI 2380, much of the prior content was based on reading assignments and questions pulled directly from the course text. The revised content developed for the course replaced these assignments with technical labs and exercises that allow students to use current tools and techniques for processing data. These tools include, Excel, Jupyter Notebooks demonstrating Python, a SQL database hosted in Amazon Web Services, and online, interactive tutorials.
CSCI 2385- Business Intelligence Reporting and Visualization
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: CSCI 2380
Class Hours per Week: Blended (2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab per week)
Business Intelligence Reporting and Visualization focuses on the use of current tools
and techniques for summarizing data and information reporting. A review of data, database,
and statistical concepts is provided as they relate to reporting and visualization.
Students will explore various reporting techniques. An exploration of various exploratory
and explanitory visualization techniques and their use cases is discussed. The development
and use of web-based reporting and visualization tools, including dashboards, will
be discussed. A survey of advanced topics related to summarizing and categorizing
data for reporting will be presented.
Please see attached syllabus: CSCI 2385
In CSCI 2385, expensive textbooks were removed in favor of free online open educational resources. Topics covered include data visualization, dashboard creation, and advanced topics building upon material covered in CSCI 2380.