statistics.com @ TESC

[bluebooger]

I am at Excelsior, not TESC
but Excelsior preapproved these with no problem
because my email to them included the link to statistics.com on the ACE page
ACE CREDIT | The National Guide to College Credit for Workforce Training

Excelsior said "it's currently ACE approved, so no problem"

even though TESC said they won't preapprove them this makes it sound like they will definitely accept them once they get the transcript from ACE

via ACE transcript after completion.

I have taken
R Programming - Intermediate
SQL and R - Introduction to Database Queries

and am currently taking
Introduction to Python for Analytics

this is the python I'm using
WinPython
the teacher recommended "Anaconda is probably the best option, followed by Enthought"
but it's totally up to you what distribution you use

anybody who's done even a little programming should have no problem with any of these courses (except maybe R Programming - Intermediate --- my math wasn't at the level it should have been and that course was HARD -- you don't need calculus -- but you do need more than "one undergrad statistics course that you took 2 years ago")

all the courses are taught the same
every week they post a single pdf of examples and explanations (these are really good -- you can just about do the homework using the examples from the pdf)

you read through the pdf and post any questions to the forum

you can expect an answer that day (within 24 hours)

but very few people asked questions
I think most people just preferred to search the internet or read the recommended book

at the same time they post the pdf they also post an assignment
so you have an entire week to work on it

there is no web cam or proctor U or anything else
you just answer the questions and submit them

1 to 2 days later your score will be posted and comments made
the comments are nothing special
"good job"
"excellent work"
"please review the formula for sum of least squares in the book"

the books are not really required even if a course says it is -- there is nothing like "do problem 6 on page 26" -- it's just assigned reading to help you understand more
but you could easily just search the web for help on R and sql

I will say I am happy that I bought the "SQL in a Nutshell" for the R and SQL class
just because it does such a great job all throughout the book comparing all the different databases (oracle, sql sever, postgresql)

the R class and the python class requires projects at the end -- due at the time the last weekly assignment is due
the sql class did not require a project

projects are NOT group based -- thank god
projects are not really much more than a comprehensive exam

I came into these classes already knowing some C, some R and pretty much an expert in vba, excel and access
so the classes weren't difficult
in fact, as I said above, they were pretty easy (except for the math for the one class)

I am very glad I took the courses
I did learn a lot of R and a little postgresql and am learning python and pandas
the homework assignments for each class are interesting and for the most part are not stupid "hello world" and "convert Fahrenheit to Celsius" nonsense

though I do wish the sql class would have been more advanced

and I think 6 upper and 3 lower credits for $1487 isn't bad
(you get $200 off if you buy 3 at a time - so 1687 - 200)

I don't know of any RA courses in R or SPSS or matlab or python and data analytics (nothing inexpensive anyway)

however there is this if you want the portfolio route
coursera -- specialization in Data Science by Johns Hopkins University
https://www.coursera.org/specialization/...istingPage

this is where I did my intro to R

I will say my experience here is not as good as with statistics.com, but only because coursera is free (or really inexpensive) and there are TOO many people who should NOT be in the class
they really have NO business there
the forums are littered with whiny complaints
"the course is too hard"
"the instructor is horrible"
"this is not a beginner's course"

no, it's course taught by a professor at one of the best universities in the world and it requires a lot of work

the coursera courses did have videos while the statistic.com courses did not
I didn't find the videos more helpful than a pdf

I thought the coursera homework in the intro to R course was pretty advanced -- there's a LOT more "thinking on your own" than there is in the statistics.com course

the thing about the coursera courses is that if you use a webcam and pay the fee ($49 per course) you can get a verified specialization certificate

but you don't have to do the entire specialization if you don't want - you could just get a verified certificate for each course

or not pay -- do the course for free -- and get the knowledge and a "certificate of accomplishment"

oh, the coursera courses REQUIRE peer grading

so you do your R homework, submit it and then 3 random anonymous students will grade it

each student is required to grade 3 to 5 homework assignments each week
if you don't grade all the assignments then they give your assignment a zero for that week

while you grade some people's work you will see why so many people ask so many questions
they are really clueless

I feel the coursera R course was more than enough R to prepare me for the Intermediate R at statisitcs.com
I just needed more math
I did get a perfect score in Intermediate R, but only because I did extra credit questions and busted my butt searching youtube for math and statistics videos

oh, and if you'd rather learn matlab instead of R and do a verified certificate then check out
Linear Algebra - Foundations to Frontiers
https://www.edx.org/course/linear-algebr...x-ut-5-03x

oh, statistics,com gives you this little image thing you can post on your linkedin account that shows you've completed the course (if you're into that kind of thing)