BCC launches new program in Business Intelligence

BELLEVUE, WASH.– Bellevue Community College will launch a new degree and certificate program this fall in the field of Business Intelligence, a growing discipline within the realm of Information Technology.

Business Intelligence (BI) focuses on identifying, acquiring and reporting the data needed to make informed business decisions. It has become a particularly essential function in large corporations because it provides the ability to manage growing volumes of complex data.

Business Intelligence is reported to be one of the fastest growing areas in the field of Information Technology. Large businesses will need three times as many Business Intelligence personnel in 2008 as they did in 2004, according to projections released recently by research firm Gartner Inc. and reported by Business Intelligence Pipeline. The same study found that finance, marketing, forecasting and sales are the primary business functions using BI professionals currently across the nation, while financial and consumer services companies are the industries seeing the greatest expansion in Business Intelligence applications.

BI students at BCC may choose from three program options leading to successively higher levels of competency: a BI Analyst certificate of accomplishment (six courses totaling 30 credit hours); a BI Developer certificate of achievement (nine courses totaling 45 credit hours); and a BI track within the college’s Associate of Arts Computer Programming degree program (additional technology core courses plus general education courses, totaling 90 credit hours).

Preliminary certificate programs in Relational Database Analyst and Relational Database Developer also are available, providing building blocks for students who are interested in Business Intelligence but do not yet have sufficient experience with databases.

The first course in the program, required for all of BCC’s BI certificate and degree programs, will be offered Fall Quarter 2005. Titled “Multi Dimensional Analysis I,” it introduces the concepts and current methodologies for designing analytical databases.

“Multi-Dimensional Analysis I” will be offered in a convenient format for working professionals and others with crowded schedules. Students will be given a CD containing all lectures and associated files so that attendance in class is not required. However, the instructor will be present during regularly scheduled optional sessions on campus to answer questions, help with hands-on exercises and lead discussions.

Serving more than 35,000 students per year, Bellevue Community College is the third largest institution of higher learning in Washington state. BCC offers associate degrees, certificates and continuing education programs in the traditional arts, humanities and sciences, as well as information technology, telecommunications, business, health sciences, social sciences, educational development and numerous other professional and technical fields.

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