(from left) Peter Bruce, founder and president of Statistics.com, and William Seaton, provost and vice president of Thomas Edison State University, at the Memorandum of Understanding signing that formalized the partnership between the University and Statistics.com.
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Institute of Statistics Education at Statistics.com and Thomas Edison State University have recently partnered to create a Bachelor of Science degree in Data Science and Analytics for working adults that can be completed entirely online.
Students enrolled in the program will earn their degree from Thomas Edison State University and earn 33 credits from online courses in data science and analytics offered by Statistics.com, which have been evaluated and recommended for credit by the American Council on Education’s (ACE) College Credit Recommendation Service (CREDIT®).
“Today, businesses and nonprofits have the ability to collect more data than ever before, but organizations need to be able to understand and analyze that data for it to be truly beneficial,” said Dr. John Woznicki, dean of the Heavin School of Arts and Sciences at Thomas Edison State University. “We are excited about our partnership with Statistics.com and this new area of study, which is designed to prepare working adults with the skills to help organizations interpret data and make data-driven decisions.”
Credits earned by successfully completing the Statistics.com courses identified for the degree will fulfill the area of study requirements of the university’s Bachelor of Science program.
“Our data science curriculum has been in place for a number of years and we are pleased that this partnership will allow students to apply our program to a degree at Thomas Edison, a recognized leader in flexible online education,” said Peter Bruce, founder and president of Statistics.com.
In addition to the area of study requirements than can be met via the Statistics.com courses, the degree program includes 60 credits of general education requirements and 27 credits of electives that can be earned via courses, exam programs and other methods of earning credit from Thomas Edison State University.
Bruce and Woznicki noted that the credit recommendation service of ACE is an essential aspect of the partnership. ACE CREDIT® helps adults gain academic credit for courses and examinations taken outside traditional degree programs. More than 2,000 colleges and universities consider ACE CREDIT® recommendations for corporate and military training in determining the applicability of course work and examination results to their courses and degree programs.
“This is a good example of how innovative institutions, using ACE's credit recommendation service, are working to provide affordable and flexible higher education options that prepare students for high level, in-demand jobs,” said Mary Beth Lakin, director, College and University Partnerships at ACE.
Applications for the degree program are scheduled to open in July 2016. The program will be open to the general public as well students taking Statistics.com courses and those already enrolled at Thomas Edison State University.
Toni M. Terry, BA