Welcome to BUS250: Introduction to Business Intelligence and Analytics

Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.

Course Description

Explore the role of business intelligence (BI) and analytics in how organizations use data to gain insights, make informed decisions, and drive strategic outcomes by looking at foundational concepts, analytical techniques, and practical applications of BI and analytics in business contexts.

Course Introduction

This course focuses on how information systems that store, collect, and manage data can be paired with analytic techniques to provide organizational decision-makers with information and insights that allow them to make more effective decisions. The ultimate aim of any decision-making process is to produce more efficient and effective organizational operations that enable a company to gain a competitive advantage.

With the advent of automated transaction processing systems, a large amount of data is created and stored as a result of organizational operations. When coupled with external data on customers, economic indicators, customer preferences, and even text-based social media, this data can be used to feed analytic models. This big data can be stored in data warehouses, extracted and organized with systems like data mining, and incorporated into data governance and quality management systems.

Sometimes, data can be interpreted directly based on how it is presented. Data visualization and dashboards can present data to decision-makers in useful formats like graphs, heat maps, tree maps, charts, word clouds, text tables, and sentiment analysis.

Often, raw data does not provide the decision-maker with sufficient insight, no matter how well presented. Data are used to populate models for more complex analysis to provide the decision-maker with additional insight. Models represent reality that the decision-maker can interact with through forecasting and scenario analysis. We cover many analytic approaches, including predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics, diagnostic analytics, and cluster analysis. Continuous refinement and optimization of analytical models based on feedback and evolving business requirements is important.

Finally, the course examines the legal structures affecting data privacy, protection, and security. We look at laws and industry-specific regulations, the ethical principles underlying them, and the importance of adhering to these laws and regulations. We also discuss how to support privacy, including ways to anonymize and pseudonymize information, and consider ethical best practices in the context of organizational policies.

This course includes the following units:

  • Unit 1: Business Intelligence and Its Role in Organizations
  • Unit 2: Sources of Data in BI Systems
  • Unit 3: Data Management and Data Warehousing
  • Unit 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation
  • Unit 5: Data Visualization and Reporting
  • Unit 6: Data Analytics
  • Unit 7: Business Intelligence Tools
  • Unit 8: Legal and Ethical Considerations

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Explain the fundamentals of business intelligence and how business intelligence is applied in modern organizations;
  • Analyze the sources of data that are used for business intelligence purposes;
  • Use data modeling and data warehousing concepts to organize and store business data;
  • Implement techniques used to analyze and interpret data to generate actionable insights;
  • Apply data visualization and reporting techniques to present data;
  • Apply data analytics for business intelligence;
  • Apply common business intelligence tools to solve relevant problems; and
  • Apply legal and ethical considerations inherent in the use of business intelligence systems to specific case situations.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

Course Materials

This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course at this link.

Some parts of this course may have been created or reviewed with the support of artificial intelligence (AI). To make sure you receive accurate, high-quality, and academically sound learning materials, all AI-assisted content is carefully checked and approved by Saylor Academy's faculty and subject matter experts.

Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score

Only the final exams are considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on either the Certificate Final Exam or the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam.

Your score on each exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. There is a 7-day waiting period between each attempt of the Certificate Final Exam, and a 14-day waiting period between each attempt of the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam. Be sure to study between each attempt!

If you wish to receive an ACE transcript to earn transfer credit toward degree programs at our Degree Completion Partners, you may choose to take the optional Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam. This exam will be password-protected and requires a proctor. The proctoring fee is $5. You may only attempt the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam a maximum of three times. If you do not pass the exam after three attempts, you will not be able to receive an ACE transcript.

There are end-of-unit assessments in this course that are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take them as many times as you want until you understand the concepts they cover.

You can see all of these assessments at this link.

Earning College Credit

This course is eligible for college credit via Saylor Academy's Direct Credit Program. If you are seeking to earn college credit, you must take and pass the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam. That exam will be password protected and require the presence of a proctor. Upon passing the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam, you will receive a Proctor-Verified Course Certificate, and will be eligible to earn an Official Transcript. For more information about applying for college credit, review the Guide to College Credit Opportunities. Be sure to check the section on proctoring for details on fees and other technical requirements.

Note: There is a 14-day waiting period between attempts of the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam. There is no imposed wait period between attempting the certificate-bearing final exam and the Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam. Some Saylor Direct Credit Final Exams have a maximum number of attempts allowed, which will be detailed on the exam's instructions page.

Continuing Education Credits

The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays the program hours you completed and continuing education credits (CEUs). CEUs document successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 4.6 CEUs.

Tips for Success

BUS250: Introduction to Business Intelligence and Analytics is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

  • Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
  • Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

Technical Requirements

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don't have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require you to log in.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

Download on Google Play Download on the App Store

Fees

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and a free course completion certificate.

The Saylor Direct Credit Final Exam requires a proctoring service for identity verification. The cost of proctoring this optional exam is $5 per session.

American Council on Education (ACE)® Learning Evaluations

This course is available for transfer credit through the American Council on Education (ACE)®. For more information on taking this course for credit, please visit our ACE® web page.


Last modified: Thursday, October 2, 2025, 4:48 PM