UC Irvine Extension Offers Web Intelligence Curriculum

Business Wire, Oct 29, 2007

New Certificate Program Introduced in Conjunction with University of British Columbia and Web Analytics Association

IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Irvine Extension, the continuing education arm of the University of California, Irvine, has announced plans to offer a new certificate program on Web Intelligence in conjunction with the University of British Columbia (UBC) Continuing Studies and in partnership with the Web Analytics Association (WAA). The program provides a foundational knowledge of practical Web analysis to experienced marketing and business professionals in light of the changing face of e-commerce. The impetus for the program is a growing need for Web site evaluation spurred by companies challenged in their search for new customers due primarily to an explosive growth in Web-based sales and marketing.

"For the last few years, the rate of growth in online sales has made it impossible for employers to find trained, talented, educated people in the field of Web analytics. In that respect, it's a 'seller's market' as far as people with resumes go," explains advisory committee member Jim Sterne, who also serves as chairman of the WAA and producer of the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit. "Web analytics is a window into the hearts and minds of the marketplace - a kind of market research that's never been available before. The UC Irvine Extension program combines Web analytics with business analytics and brings the curriculum up to a whole new level for students."

The Web Intelligence Certificate Program provides would-be and already established Web analysts with a well-rounded set of skills and practical knowledge uniquely combining analytical, technical, and business knowledge. Students who complete the program will be able to devise and implement highly effective business strategies based on comprehensive Web analysis. According to UC Irvine Extension's Assistant Director of Business, Management and IT programs, Stefano M. Stefan, the course of study includes statistical measures such as timing how long visitors stay on individual pages and recording purchases that they've made online. This information is then analyzed with the goal of improving the site's performance and effectiveness in helping the company achieve its overall business and marketing goals.

"Students will learn about such concepts as dimensional modeling, in which the data that are most useful for making business decisions are identified and brought together in a data warehouse," details Stefan. "Once the data are collected and accessible, it becomes possible to perform all kinds of business analyses," he added. "For those students who were in marketing careers to begin with, adding an educational background in Web analytics and Web intelligence is a great way to raise their level of sophistication."

For more information about UC Irvine Extension's Web Intelligence Certificate Program or to enroll online, please visit www.extension.uci.edu.

About the University of British Columbia Continuing Studies: The University of British Columbia Continuing Studies provides flexible and innovative educational opportunities for individuals who wish to upgrade their skills for career reasons or explore topics out of general interest. With approximately 16,000 registrations annually, UBC Continuing Studies offers a wide range of programs to participants from local, national and international markets. Programs and courses are offered both on the Point Grey campus and UBC Robson Square (in the heart of downtown Vancouver) http://www.cstudies.ubc.ca.

About the University of British Columbia: The University of British Columbia is a highly ranked public university. Newsweek magazine ranked UBC 27th in 2006; and for the past four years UBC has been among the top 40 institutes in the world as ranked by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UBC's major campus is situated in Vancouver, on Canada's West Coast and has approximately 44,000 graduate and undergraduate students. http://www.ubc.ca.

About the Web Analytics Association: The Web Analytics Association is a not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to promoting the understanding of Web analytics through education, advocacy, standards, research and technology. Founded by Web analytics industry leaders, the mission of the association is to unite and foster the interests of practitioners, vendors, consultants and educators who use, sell, install, implement, consult, teach or train in the field of web analytics. For more information, or to become a member, please visit http://www.webanalyticsassociation.org.

About UC Irvine Extension: As the continuing education arm of UCI, UC Irvine Extension is dedicated to providing a university-level learning experience for students, offering thousands of exciting courses and programs to local, regional, and global constituencies. UC Irvine Extension offers a rich array of academic and community programs to support a diverse audience, from a wide selection of academic programs to numerous campus activities. For more information, please visit www.extension.uci.edu.