Data Literacy (certificate)

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Official Title of Certificate: Data Literacy, Certificate

Award: Certificate

Code: CRT.ECO.DATA-LTRCY

Total Credit Hours: 18

About the Economics Department

Purpose: Provides functional skills and literacies in simple data analysis within a common statistical software package. Introduces advanced techniques such as binary variables and logistic regression and prepares students to read and interpret results using those techniques. Major emphasis is on the work before and after an analysis, such as proposing a question, collecting data, interpreting results, and applying findings to improve decision making.

This program is intended for students already possessing an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree who seek a career-boosting credential in the growing field of analytics. Data science training has grown and become very specific, so most certificates, including this one, introduce the field. They are unlikely to lead to a position with the title “data scientist” or “analyst.” However, as data has become a more important piece of nearly all business decisions, the exposure to this element provides competencies and training that provide an edge over other job candidates, such as for acquiring or advancing in managerial positions.

Special Conditions

Financial Aid: This program has not been approved by the U.S. Department of Education for eligibility for federal student aid. Students enrolled in this program may not be eligible to receive financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education (Pell Grants, SEOG, Federal Work-Study, Direct Loans or PLUS loans) or the Maryland Higher Education Commission (Educational Assistance Grants, Senatorial Scholarships or Delegate Scholarships). For current information on eligible programs, contact Financial Aid by calling 410-777-2203, emailing finaid@aacc.edu or stopping by a Financial Aid office.

Online Degrees and Credit Certificates

This program can be completed fully online. Some online courses may require proctored exams or on-campus assessments at a testing center.

Certificate Graduation Requirements

To graduate with a certificate, students must have demonstrated eligibility for ENG 101 or ENG 101A . Refer to Academic Regulations on Graduation Requirements .

Planning Tool: Two-Year Sequence of Courses

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Certificate Requirements: 18 credits

CTA 115 - Personal Computer Database Management Systems 4 credit hours
ECO 232 - Business Statistics 3 credit hours
ECO 233 - Data, Sampling, and Analytics 3 credit hours
ECO 270 - Data and Analysis Project Seminar 2 credit hours

Electives

Choose two courses (6 credit hours) from the following list. Substitutions allowed with permission of the department chair of economics. Students are advised to choose courses related to their career goals. Students should work with current employers or faculty members to choose beneficial courses from this list.

BPA 126 - Advertising and Sales Promotion 3 credit hours
BPA 127 - Digital Marketing and Analytics 3 credit hours
BPA 142 - Principles of Management 3 credit hours
BPA 171 - Principles of Supervision 3 credit hours
BPA 172 - Human Resource Management 3 credit hours
CJS 113 - Penology 3 credit hours
CJS 135 - Organized Crime 3 credit hours
CJS 260 - Terrorism/Counterterrorism 3 credit hours
COM 141 - Group Communication and Leadership 3 credit hours
COM 230 - Persuasive Message Strategies 3 credit hours
ECO 211 - Principles of Economics 1 3 credit hours
ECO 212 - Principles of Economics 2 3 credit hours
ESI 231 - Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Management 3 credit hours
HLS 111 - Introduction to Homeland Security 3 credit hours
HLS 112 - National Security Law 3 credit hours
HLS 113 - Drugs, Addiction, Corruption and Crime 3 credit hours
HLS 114 - Maryland and Terrorism 3 credit hours
HLS 211 - Intelligence Analysis and Security Management 3 credit hours
HLS 212 - Survey of Weapons of Mass Destruction 3 credit hours
HLS 213 - Transportation and Border Security 3 credit hours
HRM 251 - Restaurant Management 3 credit hours
HRM 253 - Catering Management 3 credit hours
HRM 256 - Hotel Property Management 3 credit hours
HRM 260 - Purchasing and Cost Controls 3 credit hours
PBH 101 - Introduction to Public Health 3 credit hours
PBH 102 - Introduction to Epidemiology 3 credit hours
PBH 105 - Essentials of Health Behavior 3 credit hours
PBH 202 - Emerging Public Health Issues 3 credit hours

Program Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this certificate, students will be able to:

Compose questions about an action or process that can be answered with the help of data and data analysis.
Determine necessary characteristics of a data set and its variables to address a given question related to the chosen elective coursework.
Determine what questions related to the chosen elective courses could be addressed with a given data set.
Manage data sets as needed to calculate descriptive statistics, construct tables or graphs, and perform hypothesis tests.
Use statistical software to perform hypothesis tests and estimate linear regression models.
Apply results of reports including hypothesis tests, multivariate regressions, and logistic regressions to situations related to the chosen elective coursework.

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