Data & Analytics | News
SAS Launches SAS Analytics U
SAS, a provider of business
analytics software and services, has launched
SAS Analytics U,
an initiative intended to help support analytics students, professors and
working professionals.
SAS Analytics U will offer user communities for professors and students, as
well as free access to
SAS University Edition and
SAS OnDemand for Academics software. According to the company, SAS Analytics
U "will be available to learners in and out of a higher education setting."
SAS University Edition is a new offering that will be available as a free
download for PC, Mac and Linux computers in May 2014. According to information
on the compay's site, the software includes SAS foundational technologies
designed for data and statistical analysis in teaching, research and self-paced
learning, including Base SAS, SAS/STAT, SAS/IML, SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC
Files and SAS/ACCESS Interface to ODBC, as well as SAS Studio, a new Web-based
tool for writing and running SAS code.
SAS OnDemand for Academics is an existing free, online, hosted service for
teaching and academic research. It includes access to the same analytics tools
as SAS University Edition, as well as SAS Enterprise Miner, SAS Enterprise Guide
and additional SAS applications. Beginning this summer, SAS OnDemand for
Academics will no longer require users to be associated with a specific course
or professor.
The SAS Analytics U user communities have already launched and include
resources and data sets designed to help users teach and learn SAS, while also
enabling community members to share best practices, lesson plans, and projects
and to offer peer support. In conjunction with the user communities, SAS has
launched a SAS Analytics U Facebook page and YouTube channel and plans to launch
other social media channels.
SAS currently partners with a number of universities offering analytics
programs, including North Carolina State
University, Kennesaw State University,
Capella University and
Athabasca University. According to the
company, SAS is "pursuing and expanding degree programs at
Texas A&M University,
Louisiana State University,
University of South Carolina,
National University,
Northwestern University and many
others." Future SAS massive open online courses (MOOCs) are also being planned.
"Jobs requiring analytic skills are in high demand, but right now there isn't
enough talent to fill those jobs," said Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS, in a prepared
statement. "SAS Analytics U addresses that gap by making it easier to access
free SAS software so anyone can become an analytic expert."
Further information about SAS Analytics U can be found on the
company's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at leilameyer@gmail.com.