PASS

Programs in Advanced Statistical Studies

Master the software and practical skills
you need to get ahead.

Business Analytics

This certificate program is aimed broadly at those  who need to use statistical analysis for actions and decisions in business, and offers the equivalent of 18 credits (in the US academic system).

This program provides an appropriate balance between conceptual understanding and application. As a successful PASS candidate, you will acquire the statistical skills and software facility you need for projects, reports, and research. While open to all, the flexible format and scheduling is particularly suitable for working professionals.

The program courses are taught by leading experts with whom you share a private discussion forum for the entire course period. Students participate from all over the world - lessons and assignments are opened and closed on a weekly basis. You organize your time however you like within each week - there are no set times when you must be online.

Courses in the Program are typically 4 weeks long, and require about 15 hours per week. Courses operate throughout the year, and there is no "semester" system. You can enter and start taking courses whenever you like, after reviewing the Program requirements and guidance on course sequencing. Most students take one course at a time, and complete their Program over a period of 3-5 years.

There are four main components to each course:

  1. Course materials (course text, course files, video and other materials)
  2. Discussion with the instructor and other students via daily web forum (asynchronous - you need not be online at any particular time of day)
  3. Homework (submitted online weekly, with individualized feedback the following week)
  4. Final project/exam

For more details on how these online courses work, click here.  Students successfully completing the Program receive a certificate and transcript.

Placement Services

As a PASS candidate, once you successfully complete half your program courses, you are eligible for our personalized placement services. We will review your background, your interests, and your work at the Institute, and try to find a match with appropriate recruiters. Our specialty is early-to-mid-career placement (not entry level).

When To Apply

Applications are accepted and students are enrolled year round on a rolling basis.  You pay an application fee and submit it with your application form.  You may pay the fee online here, or enclose a check (USD drawn on a US bank) with your application. NOTE: The application is your opportunity to specifically outline your past education and experience, and provide any other information you want us to consider during our review.  The value of this background and experience is the ability to place the statistical methods covered in the Program in an appropriate application context.  Once we have accepted your application, we will be happy to assist you with more specific questions about PASS.

Admission Criteria

  1. A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university,
  2. Successful completion of an introductory statistics course equivalent to Statistics.com's Intro courses series ("Introduction to Statistics for Beginners" through "Introduction to Statistics 3") that prepares the applicant for a passing score in the required entrance exam which covers basic statistics.
  3. Passing score on the online entrance exam.

Note:  While it is not an admission requirement, applicants will also benefit from employment experience (or plans for employment) in an organization that works in the selected field of the Program you select.

Enrollment In PASS

Enroll in the Program of your choice here,  after your application is approved AND you have passed the entrance examination.  Once enrolled, register for each specific course within your PASS using the academic tuition rate as you are now a matriculated student at the Institute for Statistics Education at Statistics.com.

Note:  Applicants will also benefit from employment experience in an organization where quantitative analysis informs business practice and decision-making.  The value of this experience is the ability to place the statistical methods covered in the Program in an appropriate business context (work experience with particular statistical techniques is not required).

Application Fee: $75
Program Registration Fee:$495
Estimated Required Course Tuition: $1596
Estimated Electives Course Tuition: $3148
Estimated Material Cost: $840
Estimated Total Cost: $6154

Business Analytics PASS

 

Program Objectives

The program consists of courses offered completely online at statistics.com.  There is a small group of required topics (regression, logistic regression, forecasting), then students select one of three concentration strands (see below) for additional coursework.  Students completing the program successfully will have mastery of skills in one of three important strands of their own choosing.

Concentration Strands and Electives

The program offers a set of core courses that are required, as well as a set of electives from which you can choose those of interest.  Different concentration strands within the program are available, corresponding to different sets of electives.

  • Predictive Analytics Strand:  We suggest Introduction to Data Mining, Data Mining 2 - Unsupervised Learning, Data Mining Practicum.  (There are several Data Mining Practicum courses, corresponding to different software programs; you should choose one.)
  • Risk Assessment and Forecasting Strand:  We suggest Introduction to Quantitative Risk Management, Financial Risk Modeling, Advanced Forecasting
  • Market Research and Consumer Behavior Strand:   We suggest Survey Design, Survey Analysis, Multivariate Statistics, Cluster Analysis, and Discrete Choice Modeling and Conjoint Analysis

Sequencing your Program

Most courses are four weeks long, and are scheduled either once or twice a year. Courses start on specific dates, but do not require you to be online at any particular time of the day. Since various courses are available throughout the year, the Program provides flexibility in scheduling.

Listed below in alphabetical order, are the required and elective courses with available dates. Additionally, use these tools to help you map out your program:

  • Prerequisites – each course lists its prerequisite. These prerequisite courses should be taken prior to the course you are considering.
  • Suggested sequencing document - this lists the courses in groups, based upon their approximate level of difficulty. It is a guide, not a set of requirements.
  • Calendar - You can easily search course start dates here.

After your successful acceptance into PASS, you can begin your program with any course, based on your own background, the level of difficulty and if you meet the prerequisites.  You will work out a tentative schedule (or at least the first few courses), then register and pay tuition.

As a PASS candidate, you are eligible to register for any course using the academic tuition link, indicating “PASS” when prompted for your academic affiliation during online registration.  As an added benefit, if you register online for three courses simultaneously, an automatic USD200 reduction is applied. Please note that payment of tuition and fees does not include the purchase of any required texts or software.

Suggested sequencing document

Calendar


Required Courses (4)

  • Forecasting This course will teach you how to choose an appropriate time series model, fit the model, to conduct diagnostics, and use the model for forecasting.
    Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: March 30, 2012 to April 27, 2012September 14, 2012 to October 12, 2012 more >>
  • Logistic Regression Logistic regression extends ordinary least squares (OLS) methods to model data with binary (yes/no, success/failure) outcomes. Rather than directly estimating the value of the outcome, logistic regression allows you to estimate the probability of a success or failure. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: March 16, 2012 to April 13, 2012June 15, 2012 to July 13, 2012September 07, 2012 to October 05, 2012 more >>
  • Matrix Algebra Review This course will provide the basics of vector and matrix algebra and operations necessary to understand multivariate statistical methods, including the notions of the matrix inverse, generalized inverse and eigenvalues and eigenvectors. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to use and understand vector and matrix operations and equations, find and use a matrix inverse, and use and understand the eigenset of a symmetric matrix. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: February 24, 2012 to March 23, 2012June 29, 2012 to July 27, 2012November 02, 2012 to November 30, 2012 more >>
  • Regression Analysis In this course you will learn how multiple linear regression models are derived, use software to implement them, learn what assumptions underlie the models, learn how to test whether your data meet those assumptions and what can be done when those assumptions are not met, and develop strategies for building and understanding useful models. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: March 30, 2012 to April 27, 2012September 28, 2012 to October 26, 2012 more >>

Elective Courses (8 required)

  • Advanced Logistic Regression After taking this course, participants will be able to specify, implement and interpret the output of a variety of advanced logistic regression models not covered in the first course, "Logistic Regression." Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: April 27, 2012 to May 25, 2012April 26, 2013 to May 24, 2013 more >>
  • Analysis of Survey Data from Complex Sample Designs This course teaches you how to estimate variances for complex surveys, and also how to model the results using linear and logistic regression, and other generalized linear models. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: To be scheduled. more >>
  • Categorical Data Analysis This course will cover the analysis of contingency table data (tabular data in which the cell entries represent counts of subjects or items falling into certain categories). Topics include tests for independence (comparing proportions as well as chi-square), exact methods, and treatment of ordered data. Both 2-way and 3-way tables are covered. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: March 30, 2012 to April 27, 2012September 28, 2012 to October 26, 2012 more >>
  • Cluster Analysis This course will teach you how to use various cluster analysis methods to identify possible clusters in multivariate data. Methods discussed include hierarchical clustering, k-means clustering, two-step clustering, and normal mixture models for continuous variables. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: November 02, 2012 to November 30, 2012November 01, 2013 to November 29, 2013 more >>
  • Data Mining: Unsupervised Techniques This course covers key unsupervised learning techniques - association rules, principal components analysis, and clustering. The course will include an integration of supervised and unsupervised learning techniques. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: October 12, 2012 to November 09, 2012October 11, 2013 to November 08, 2013 more >>
  • Decision Trees and Rule-Based Segmentation Rule induction is an important component of data mining, and this course covers two main styles of generating rules. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: January 18, 2013 to February 15, 2013 more >>
  • Discrete Choice Modeling and Conjoint Analysis After taking this course, participants will be able to design appropriate conjoint and choice studies, using surveys, panels, and designed experiments. They will also be able to analyze and interpret the resulting data. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: April 13, 2012 to May 11, 2012April 12, 2013 to May 10, 2013 more >>
  • Financial Risk Modeling This course teaches participants how to model financial events that have uncertainties associated with them. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: May 18, 2012 to June 15, 2012May 17, 2013 to June 14, 2013 more >>
  • Forecasting - Advanced This course covers multiple linear regression, autoregressive modesls (ARMA and ARIMA), seasonal adjustment, measures of forecast accuracy, and exponential smoothing. It goes into greater detail and depth than "Forecasting." Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: To be scheduled. more >>
  • Interactive Data Visualization This course covers the principles of the visual display of data, both for presentation and analysis. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: April 27, 2012 to May 25, 2012October 26, 2012 to November 23, 2012 more >>
  • Introduction to Data Mining This course covers the two core paradigms that account for most business applications of data mining: classification and prediction. The course includes hands-on work with XLMiner, a data-mining add-in for Excel. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: March 09, 2012 to April 06, 2012September 07, 2012 to October 05, 2012 more >>
  • Introduction to Quantitative Risk Analysis This course will cover the most important principles, techniques and tools used in modeling in Quantitative Risk Analysis. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: April 13, 2012 to May 11, 2012 more >>
  • Introduction to Statistical Modeling This course provides a solid introduction to the ideas and techniques of statistical modeling. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: January 04, 2013 to February 01, 2013 more >>
  • Multivariate Statistics This course covers key multivariate procedures such as multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), principal components, factor analysis and classification. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: February 17, 2012 to March 16, 2012July 13, 2012 to August 10, 2012 more >>
  • National Income Statistics This online course at statistics.com covers the essentials of National Income accounting. Tuition: $299 (3.75 CEUs) New available dates: September 14, 2012 to October 05, 2012 more >>
  • Spatial Statistics with Geographic Information Systems Spatial statistical analysis uses methods adapted from conventional statistics to address problems in which spatial location is the most important explanatory variable. This course will explain and give examples of the analysis that can be conducted in a geographic information system such as ArcGIS or Mapinfo. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: May 11, 2012 to June 08, 2012November 09, 2012 to December 07, 2012 more >>
  • Survey Analysis This course covers the analysis of data gathered in surveys. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: August 17, 2012 to September 14, 2012 more >>
  • Survey Design and Sampling Procedures This course covers the crafting of survey questions, the design of surveys, and different sampling procedures that are used in practice. Longstanding basic principles of survey design are covered, and the impact of the trend toward increased respondent resistance is discussed. Tuition: $399 (5.0 CEUs) New available dates: July 13, 2012 to August 10, 2012 more >>

Download Application

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