The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage
This is part one of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program. As i make my way through i will document my evaluations on a course by course basis.
UBC’s 100% online courses use the Moodle Course Management System for their delivery, therefore, all course content must be read by the student in order to fully grasp the material. There are also no more than 25 people per course and one online tutor.
Introduction to Web Analytics as its name implies is the first of four courses in the program. It is also the prerequisite for all the other courses. The reading is a lot, but necessary i think to successfully deliver a broad enough introduction to the field. A good majority of the reading material is actual case studies making it highly relatable for the student/practitioner. It can be a bit dry at times, but i guess that is to be expected given the analytic nature of the content. But, if you’re passionate about the web and curious about the study, then you’ll find it super interesting and continue to plough ahead.
Continue reading the rest of this post »
Athabasca University: Canada’s Leader in Online & Distance Education
I have been thinking about trading up my 2 yr Honors Diploma i earned from Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning in ‘03 for a Bachelor of Commerce Undergraduate Degree (BComm) from Athabasca University (AU) and i can say now that i have taken the first step in the process; i have officially registered in the program. After inquiring “how long it takes to for admissions to make their decision” i received “you will automatically be enrolled in the BComm program. You may go ahead and start taking courses “. On that note i believe i can safely say that i am indeed admitted into AU’s BComm program and a University student!! Wow, that feels great!
I feel if i want to further my Web Analytics career i will need to compete on this level. While browsing recent job descriptions i have noticed that having some sort of a BA/BS/BComm or equivalent degree is a common requirement whereas none that i read mention a College diploma and if they did i imagine they’d just couple it together with the hands-on/on-the-job experience bit.
Continue reading the rest of this post »
The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage
This is part two of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program.
The second course in the program: Web Analytics for Site Optimization for me, was very exciting! Out of the introductory ranks and into something i could really dig my teeth into. With real case by case lesson plans what you cover in this course is very applicable to everyday practice, whether you’re an Information Architect (IA) or a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert, there is something for everyone to take away here.
The course does an excellent job of combining solid user-centric design theory, common SEO practices and the recommended web analysis to measure these approaches. Some of the design theory is a bit hard to follow, but well worth it in the end as you do also need to apply that knowledge to at least one of the three assignments.
Continue reading the rest of this post »
The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage
This is part three of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program.
The third course Measuring Marketing Campaigns Online begins with somewhat of a quick refresher roughly based on key concepts of the second course Web Analytics for Site Optimization – in case you never took that one and jumped straight onto the third. This “Online Marketing Fundamentals” refresher also includes the surprise free giveaway i first mentioned in the second course Web Analytics for Site Optimization. The required reading in this course is as like the second course; a lot, but is very rewarding for what you learn and hopefully take away with you is pretty invaluable, especially given the current state of the economy and the opportunities that can arise.
Continue reading the rest of this post »
The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage
This is (the final) part four of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program.
The fourth and final course in the program: Creating and Managing the Analytical Business Culture is taught from a more of manager, web analytics point of view as it tries to tackle all facets of creating and managing a data-driven culture within an organization. It does a good job of covering the bases of such a task from: choosing a web analytics vendor; establishing the function that is web analytics; building a solid foundation throughout the organization; consistent performance monitoring and last, but not least, taking action on the results. That said, there seems to be an increase to the amount of reading required to cover off all these topics, especially compared to the three previous courses, so i recommend accounting for that going in.
Continue reading the rest of this post »
Reader Comments