University of Colorado launches open online courses in data warehousing on Coursera

MOOC aims to advance access to career-relevant education

DENVER - The University of Colorado is launching an online course series teaching data warehousing on Coursera, the world’s largest open online education provider. Launching Sept. 15, the Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence Specialization is a series of courses taught by CU Denver’s top faculty. The certificate program is open to anyone and ends with a capstone project, in which students build their own data warehouse with business intelligence functionality.

Data warehousing, a system used for reporting and data analysis, is becoming an integral part of business management. The courses will be taught by professors Michael Mannino and Jahangir Karimi of the Information Systems program in the CU Denver Business School. Together they have more than six decades of experience and teaching in data warehouses and business intelligence.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to share instruction and research about data warehouses with a larger learning community,” said Mannino, author of the popular textbook Database Design, Application Development and Administration, which covers material used in four of the five MOOC courses in the specialization. “Corporate training companies charge thousands for this level of education. Tens of thousands around the world will have access to this same level of training at a small fraction of the cost.”

The data warehousing specialization gives learners a broad understanding of data and business intelligence concepts and trends from experts in the field. The Specialization also provides significant opportunities to gain hands-on skills in designing, building and implementing both data warehouses and the business intelligence functionality that is crucial in the era of massive data.

“With this specialization, learners will gain the necessary skills and knowledge in data warehouse design, data integration processing, data visualization, online analytical processing, dashboards and scorecards and corporate performance management,” Karimi said. “They will also receive hands-on experience with leading data warehouse products and business intelligence tools to investigate specific business or social problems.”

The University of Colorado has been a national leader in MOOC development and experimentation, with nearly 600,000 learners across 10 courses on Coursera. 

“This latest course launch is a great example of how CU is using Coursera’s growing platform to deliver high-quality education to students who otherwise might not be able to access it,” said Michael Lightner, interim vice president for academic affairs at CU. “As far as reaching a global audience, there’s no better way to showcase the excellence of teaching and learning at CU.”

“We are thrilled to offer a Specialization in data warehousing from the University of Colorado,” said Daphne Koller, president and co-founder of Coursera. “Data analysis is among the most popular course topics for Coursera learners who are hungry for access to knowledge in one of the fastest growing career fields of our time.”

Contact:

• DeborahKeyek-Franssen
  Associate vice president for digital education and engagement
  deblkf@cu.edu
  720-839-9069
• Michael Lightner
  Interim vice president and academic affairs officer
  lightner@cu.edu
  303-860-5726

About the CU System
The University of Colorado is a premier public research university with four campuses: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. With more than 59,700 students (with another 8,000 taking courses for credit), over 4,900 full-time instructional faculty members and another 1,200 research faculty members, CU is the largest institution of higher education in the state of Colorado. For more information about the CU system, go to www.cu.edu.

About CU Denver
The University of Colorado Denver provides a quality academic experience through engagement with gifted faculty members, exposure to original research and real-world learning. Located in the heart of downtown, CU Denver offers its 14,000 students unparalleled internship, career and networking opportunities. Part of the fabric of the city, CU Denver has evolved into a leading urban public university boasting eight schools and colleges, and offering bachelor through doctoral degrees. CU Denver is a community where students learn with purpose and benefit from a range of opportunities that enhance their lives and careers.

About Coursera
Coursera partners with more than 120 top universities and educational institutions to offer hundreds of online courses and Specializations in topics from computer science to social psychology and beyond. Earn certificates from prestigious learning institutions for courses and projects developed in collaboration with top employers that teach the skills you need to succeed. Whether you want to advance your career or pursue a passion, Coursera provides open online education for everyone. For more information, visit www.coursera.org.