Class Overview

In this class, our focus will be on mathematics - especially concepts and methods of data analysis and not on Excel as an end in itself. We use Excel to perform our calculations, and all mathematical formulas are provided as Excel spreadsheets, but we do not attempt to cover Excel macros, Visual Basic, PivotTables, or other Excel features of Excel. Intermediate to advanced level.
I will use this lesson to prepare you to design and implement realistic predictive models based on data. In the last part of this course, you will assume the role of an enterprise data analyst for a financial institution and develop two different predictive models to determine which candidates to use for credit cards and which ones to reject. Your first model will focus on reducing your risk of default, and you're second on maximizing bank profits. Both models must demonstrate in a practical way that your choice of business metrics guides the selection of an optimal model.
You will explore Excel's core competencies to deal with the typical work situations you may encounter in the future.
You will learn how to calculate and apply the potentially useful uncertainty metric known as entropy.