By Mike Greife,
November 21, 2017
WARRENSBURG, MO – The University of Central Missouri has responded to the urgent corporate
need for professionals to analyze the rapidly increasing volume of technology-generated
data with the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Big Data and
Business Analytics.
Courses in the new degree program are open for enrollment for fall semester 2018.
The new program is a collaborative effort between the Computer Information Systems
program and the Economics and Finance programs in UCM’s Harmon College of Business
and Professional Studies.
“Advances in technology such as social media have allowed organizations to collect
unprecedented large amounts of data, ranging from consumer preferences to trends in
sales,” said Someswar Kesh, professor and chair of the UCM Department of Computer
Information Systems and Analytics. “The analysis of this data is valuable to the development
of corporate strategy, and big data is being used to determine accounting fraud, market
segmentation for products, and selection of job candidates, just to a name a few examples.”
Kesh added that businesses also analyze and leverage data to maximize organizational
efficiency, with data and analytics being used by Fortune 100 companies, small businesses,
universities, non-profit organizations and government.
“Chief information officers around the world have made this a priority,” Kesh said.
“A recent McKinsey and Company big data report indicates that by 2018 the United States
could face a shortage or 140,000 to 190,000 professionals with deep analytical skills,
as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the knowledge of big data analysis
needed to make effective decisions.”
He added that colleges and universities are offering programs at different levels
with more than 60 undergraduate and 80 graduate level programs available.
UCM students in the Big Data and Business Analytics program will learn how to design,
develop and manage big data and analytics systems. They will also learn how to use
software tools that employ machine learning, data mining, and analytics to assist
organizations in visualizing information and make strategic business decisions, preparing
them for successful careers in Big Data and Analytics.
To learn more about the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Big
Data and Business Analytics at UCM, contact Kesh at kesh@ucmo.edu, or contact the
Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies at ucmo.edu/hcbps.
