Coursera Career Academy: Another Tool in the CBT’s Toolbox for Students

At the College of Business and Technology,  the professors are always on the lookout for ways to help their students learn. Classes are exciting places where experiential learning occurs. Students meet with industry leaders inside their classrooms as well as at the companies where they will one day work. Now their academic world has gotten much bigger thanks to the efforts of the College of Business and Technology. In July of 2024, through Coursera Career Academy, many unique courses were made available to students.

Dr. Frank Tenkorang, who serves as an associate dean for the CBT and as a professor for the Economics and Agribusiness Department, explains that the Coursera Career Academy “offers courses, guided projects, and certificate programs” which have been developed by leading industry experts. It is now possible for students to learn from companies such as IBM, Google, Meta, Amazon, CVS, Microsoft, and SAP thanks to their collaboration with the Coursera Career Academy. 

For Dr. Tenkorang, whose areas of expertise and research include agricultural price analysis as well as data analytics and forecasting, it is important to use programs such as those offered by Coursera Career Academy to expand learning for 体育菠菜大平台 students. He appreciates how these programs are aligned with industry needs because they equip “participants with practical knowledge to prepare for entry-level roles.”

Several CBT professors are using Coursera Career Academy and 293 CBT students are currently enrolled in courses and guided projects. To date, there have been over 200 verified course completions with students collectively having spent 683 hours on Coursera during this semester. There have been 1456 videos watched and 859 readings. These students have gained valuable skills in Excel, CRM, Power Bi, Python, and Generative AI. The top assessed skills are marketing, finance, data analysis, spreadsheet software, and business analysis.  Gaining a global perspective is important in this digital age, and 体育菠菜大平台 students are being given the opportunity to broaden their horizons thanks to their involvement in the many courses offered via Coursera. 

Kobie Krantz, currently a senior at 体育菠菜大平台, is one of the many students who are already reaping the benefits of this new program. He explains how his experience with Python has helped him to “learn the basic fundamentals of programming.” He appreciates how learning through Coursera was easy for him as he was “able to complete the work at (his) own pace with the guided help throughout the course.” One of the aspects about Coursera that is most important to Krantz is how it is structured with videos, study guides, labs, and practice assignments. He shares how it has helped him to explore new ways to follow directions and solve problems. As he prepares for his future graduation, he believes what he has learned from Python will help him in his career because he has “gained a skill which is in high demand” and can be “used to bolster (his) current skill set or work on projects.”

Dr. Tenkorang explains that having Coursera in their toolbox helps CBT professors to fulfill the promise to provide “learners with career-focused, job-ready content to help them build skills and credentials in high-demand fields.” He understands the work world students will be entering after graduation. In addition to his previous professional experience, he was a research assistant at the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research at the University of Ghana as well as a research assistant at both the University of Wyoming and Purdue University. One of his main goals in his current position is to make sure his students are completely prepared for their professional life after graduation.

Another student who is benefitting from these efforts is College of Business and Technology junior Jessica Bertrand. She shares that she “had a good experience” with Coursera, stating that she specifically “appreciated the detailed demonstrations in the instructional videos” which “were clear and incredibly helpful in guiding (her) through the assignment.”

As usual, 体育菠菜大平台 continues to make an impact on the world one Loper at a time. Students who are interested can access the Coursera Career Academy by enrolling in a CBT course where an instructor has made a Coursera Career Academy course available or through an invitation to an Independent Learning Hub.