Business Intelligence Data Analysis and Reporting

Credential:: certificate More info on program credentials
Program length:: 24 weeks Learn more about program length
Location:: In person (Main Campus) or Blended (Main Campus and Online) More info on program location
International applicants:: Accepted Not PGWP eligible Learn more about international applicant eligibility
Faculty:: School for Advanced Digital Technology

Credit credentials

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They are often completed in a year or less.

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Because these do not have post-secondary credits attached, they cannot be used towards any of the credentials above. We also cannot guarantee an external institute will accept these courses or credentials for transfer credit.

SAIT's non-credit certificates of achievement and completion are offered through Continuing Education and Professional Studies.

Certificate of Achievement

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Certificates of achievement typically develop broader, complex skill sets. As of July 1, 2022, you have up to three years to complete the certificate. If you began these programs before July 1, 2022, you still have five calendar years to complete the program from when you began the first course.

Certificate of Completion

Certificates of completion recognize the completion of a program that includes a formal evaluation of performance and a minimum of 30 to a maximum of 143 course hours.

These certificates are shorter in duration than certificates of achievement and offer a focused education program. As of July 1, 2022, you have up to three years to complete the certificate. If you began before July 1, 2022, you will have five calendar years to complete the program from when you began the first course.

Professional Certificate

Program certificates recognize completion of a program that includes the formal evaluation of performance, and that is a minimum of one year in length.

These certificates have program-specific admission requirements.

Micro-credential

A micro-credential recognizes the completion of a non-credit course that includes a formal performance evaluation and verifies you have demonstrated specific competencies.

Micro-credentials focus on the mastery of specific skills. You receive a digital, shareable badge upon completing a SAIT micro-credential (SAITMicro).

Overview

Understanding how to access and utilize corporate information is crucial in today's data-driven business environment.

This program will provide practical, hands-on experience using Microsoft SQL Server, one of the industry's leading relational database management systems. You'll become adept in writing SQL queries, managing databases, and understanding data structures. You'll have the knowledge and skills to make data-driven decisions that can contribute to business success.

You'll learn:

to query, administer and maintain databases through tasks such as database backup and recovery, security management and optimization for performance
data analysis proficiency and how to extract valuable insights from data, perform data cleansing and transformation, and apply statistical and analytical techniques
industry-standard data management best practices and techniques
how to design and maintain databases and business intelligence software that align with industry standards, ensuring data accuracy, security and reliability
the essential skills and experience to complete the relevant Microsoft certifications related to business intelligence, like Microsoft Power BI, making you even more competitive in the job market
to bridge the gap between theory and practice by applying your skills in real-world business scenarios.

As a graduate, you can pursue various career opportunities, including database administrator, business analyst or data analyst roles or business intelligence consultant. The skills you acquire will be valuable in multiple industries and organizations.

Due to the tight integration of the courses in the Business Intelligence Data Analysis and Reporting program, credit for prior learning is not available.

Those working in the business intelligence and data analysis field tend to be innovative, methodical and directive.

You need:

to learn quickly, think logically and study information
to build abstract structures that represent complex relationships
to focus on details without losing sight of the whole
an awareness of legal, policy and privacy restrictions
speaking, listening and writing skills
to work well in a team
an active interest in keeping up with changes in technology.

The ideal candidate for the Business Intelligence program has:

previous post-secondary education in business or technology
a technical aptitude and a desire to combine their business and technology skills to assist businesses through technology solutions
experience with relational databases, computer programming or operating systems (for example, Linux/Unix, Windows).

To do well in this field, you should enjoy working with a variety of people in a team setting and solving problems.

In your second semester, you'll participate in a practicum placement with an employer where you'll apply the skills and knowledge you've learned in an industry environment.

This program, offered in conjunction with the Microsoft IT Academy initiative, is delivered using Microsoft Official Curriculum for many courses.

With additional relevant work experience and exam preparation, you'll be prepared to challenge and complete appropriate Microsoft Certifications.

Upon successful completion of this program, you'll receive a SAIT Business Intelligence: Data Analysis and Reporting certificate.

Download program info

Careers and opportunities

Each year, SAIT conducts a survey between February and April to determine the employment rate, salary and satisfaction of our newest SAIT alumni.

people icon 87% graduate employment rate

salary icon $70,000 average starting salary

Find out more about our graduate employment statistics >

Our graduates may work in the following occupations. Some careers require additional experience and education.

Associated National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes: 21223, 21221, 11201, 21211, 41402.

Career planning support

Unsure which career path is for you? Here are some recommended career planning resources to help you decide your future.

You can also head to Alberta alis for lots of information about careers in Alberta, including quizzes and labour market information to help you narrow down a path.

Finally, you can take our online career finder quiz, which can help narrow your options based on your current skills and interests.

Take our career finder quiz

Courses

The Business Intelligence Data Analysis and Reporting requires 19.5 credits (nine courses) to complete.

The program spans 24 weeks, with one semester of study and a second semester practicum placement.

View classes by semester

Suggested schedule of study

Semester 1

Course code	Course name	Credit
CPSY 201	Introduction to Data Management	3.0
CPSY 203	Architecture and Design	1.5
CPSY 205	Data Discovery and Ingestion	1.5
CPSY 207	Reporting and Analytics	1.5
CPSY 209	Data Preparation and Presentation	1.5
MMGT 205	Business Analysis for Business Intelligence Applications	1.5
MMGT 206	Performance Management Applications	3.0
PROJ 212	Applied Business Intelligence Project	3.0
Semester 1 total		16.5

Semester 2

Course code	Course name	Credit
PRAC 249	Career Advancement Practicum	3.0
Semester 2 total		3.0
Program total		19.5

Course	Credits
This course introduces the student to the principles of Developing, Administering and Querying a SQL Server Database. Students will learn to administer a SQL Server from installation, through to back-ups, performance monitoring, and the foundations of developing databases. As students' progress through this course, they will learn and use T-SQL language elements and gain the ability to use SQL Management Studio tools to query and maintain a SQL environment. Students will use Microsoft Azure Data Services to explore relational data in a Cloud environment.	3
This course prepares students to capture the business and technical requirements for a Business Intelligence solution with an emphasis on assessment and development of a Business Intelligence project lifecycle. Students will also learn how to create, manage and maintain databases and database elements such as triggers, views, stored procedures, views and tables. Students will examine Cloud-based data services related to data storage, provisioning, processing, and consumption.	1.5
This course will introduce students to Designing and Developing the Extract, Transform and Load processes. Students will implement control flow, data flow, and logging as they create and debug Integration Services packages to enable the ETL process. Students will then deploy these Integration Services packages. Working with SQL Server Integration Studio (SSIS), students will plan data transfer and staging solutions for ETL operations. These packages will require the student to implement error handling, optimization and reliability as they work towards deployment and operation of an SSIS solution. Students will explore data ingestion, preparation, and quality management, while building solutions that use a variety of data discovery control methods. Students will also build skills in the implementation of an Azure Data Solution.	1.5
This course introduces students to designing, developing and deploying Business Intelligence applications. Students will complete reporting and analytical interfaces, which are optimized for execution performance. Using reporting services, students will create and manipulate data sets and look for opportunities to enhance reports to business functional areas.	1.5
In this course, students will plan, design, implement and optimize the infrastructure for an OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) solution. Students will create the logical design and physical storage for multidimensional solutions. Students will implement KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and associated actions, stored procedures and data sets. As students deploy, manage and maintain an Analysis Services Solution, they will implement data mining solutions. Students will work with SQL Analysis Services to create Multidimensional Analysis Solutions, work with Measures and Measure Groups and execute queries against Multidimensional Analysis Solutions. By customizing cube functionality as they deploy and secure an Analysis Services Database, students will look at Data Mining activities. Students will design for various data platforms such as on-premise, cloud, and hybrid. They will also learn about data scenarios involving relational data, NoSQL, and Data Warehouse Architectures.	1.5
This course is an introduction to the role of business analysis in a business development lifecycle. Students will learn the business intelligence lifecycle, the role of corporate performance management, business intelligence value within various business functional groups (i.e. finance, supply change management), and business requirements gathering for corporate performance management methodologies. Students will gain familiarity with several strategic design methodologies and the role data plays in their success (SWOT, PESTLE, PEST, Five Forces, etc). The use of Balanced Scorecards and data-driven business processes will also be examined in the context of building data-literate organizations.	1.5
This course introduces students to the principles of creating and using performance management tools and methods in organizations. Students will learn how to design and create compelling performance management applications such as scorecards, dashboards, and reports that are used for decision making at all levels of an organization.	3
This is a practicum conducted off campus at a participating corporation or business. It provides learners with a realistic taste of what it is like to work in the technology industry. Learners are involved in all steps of the practicum process.	3
This course will thread throughout the program and learners will incorporate all the elements of the program into a final project based on a business intelligence case study.	3

Progression

You must attain a PGPA and/or a CGPA of 2.0 or better each semester and pass the prerequisite courses to progress through the program.

To qualify for graduation, you must pass all courses, attain a CGPA of 2.0 or better and complete course requirements within the prescribed timelines.

Review our grading and progression procedure >

Admission requirements

Applicants educated in Canada

Applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency and completion of the following courses or equivalents:

at least 60% in English Language Arts 30-1 or 30-2, or
at least two years of post-secondary education from a recognized university, institute or college.

SAIT accepts high school course equivalents for admission for applicants educated outside Alberta.

All applicants who were educated outside of Canada must demonstrate English language proficiency and provide proof they meet the program admission requirements with an international document assessment. Find accepted educational documents and assessment options.

SAIT may also accept courses completed at certain international post-secondary institutions.

Academic Upgrading

Missing an admission requirement for this program? Upgrade your prior education to help you receive admission into one of SAIT's career programs.

Upgrade

English language proficiency

All applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency prior to admission, including students educated in Canada.

Learn more

Transfer agreements

At SAIT, we evaluate post-secondary credit you have previously earned and apply it to your SAIT credential. Explore our formal transfer agreements available for this program.

We can evaluate your prior education, even if we don't have a formal agreement in place.

Submit a transfer credit application

There are no formal transfer agreements currently in place for this program.

Transfer options for graduates

Build on the knowledge you’ve learned at SAIT. The opportunity to advance your education at an accredited post-secondary institution may be available.

🔗 Visit Transfer Alberta search tool for all transfer agreements in Alberta (including UCalgary, MRU and BVC).

If there are transfer agreements with other institutions outside of Alberta, nationally or internationally, they will be listed below.

Available intakes

Winter 2025

Start dates:

Jan 06, 2025

Domestic students: Open: Application deadline: Extended
International students: Closed: Application deadline: Sept. 30, 2024

Spring 2025

Start dates:

May 05, 2025

Domestic students: Open: Application deadline: April 30, 2025
International students: Open: Application deadline: March 28, 2025

Fall 2025

Start dates:

Sep 02, 2025

Domestic students: Open: Application deadline: June 30, 2025

Costs

2024/25 tuition and fees

The following estimated costs are effective as of July 1, 2024.

Domestic students

The estimated total cost of tuition and fees for domestic students is based on the recommended course load per year.
Year	Number of semesters	Tuition fees	Additional fees	Total per year
1	1.5	$11,115	$1,211	$12,326
Total cost:				$12,326

Year	Number of semesters	Tuition fees	Additional fees	Total per year
1	1.5	$17,472	$1,211	$18,683
Total cost:				$18,683

Textbooks and virtual lab access will be provided at no additional cost.

This is a bring-your-own-device program with a power-user hardware and software requirement. See the specific requirements on our computers and laptops page.

Financial aid

Paying for your education may feel overwhelming, but we have resources and programs that can help, including information about payment options, student loans, grants and scholarships.

Learn more

Fees

Your fees are calculated based on the number of course credits you take per semester (approximately 16 weeks of study). In most cases, your fee is determined based on whether you're taking more or less than nine (9) course credits (more than nine credits in a semester are considered full-time studies.)

Fees are adjusted for programs with start dates outside the typical 15-week program.

2024/25 fees per semester

Fees are subject to change without notice.

A breakdown of mandatory fees based on whether you are taking less than or more than nine credits per semester
SAIT fees	Less than 9 credits/semester	9 or more credits/semester
Campus athletic and recreation fee: supports the provision of recreation and fitness facilities, movement classes, wellness programs, events, intermural activities, varsity sports programs, and a variety of initiatives offered throughout the academic year. Exemptions to recreation fees are made in some circumstances.	$51.50	$103
Student support fee: supports services and resources to help you succeed throughout your academic career, including Career Advancement Services and Student Development and Counselling.	$53.75	$107.50
Student technology fee: supports improvements to cybersecurity to protect student and institutional information, access to learning material outside the classroom, and technology to enhance your experience.	$53.75	$107.50
UPass: provides you with unlimited access to Calgary Transit. Additional eligibility requirements apply to obtain a UPass.	n/a	$165
Saitsa fees
Saitsa fee: supports the student-led, non-profit organization representing students. Fees support the operation of various student services, activities, and programming. Saitsa fees are paid per credit to a maximum amount of $146 per semester.	$16.23/credit	$146 maximum
Health and dental plan: provides access to thousands of dollars in coverage for prescription medication, dental treatments, paramedical services, and multiple other benefits. Health and dental fees are charged per semester to an annual maximum amount of $172 for health and $158 for dental. Find more details at saitsa.com/benefits. In most cases, your fees are quoted based on paying for a full year of health and dental coverage. International students are charged these fees regardless of course load. Domestic students with existing health and dental coverage may opt-out.	n/a	$91 for health $84 for dental

Application process

Ready to apply?

Follow our step-by-step guide to submitting a successful application.

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Communication during admission

Email is the primary source of communication during the selection process. Ensure your personal email account is managed appropriately to receive our emails, files and communications. We recommend you add the sadt.advising@sait.ca domain to your safe senders' list or you risk missing critical email messages.

Begin your application

Apply now using the online application portal.

Ensure you have a valid Visa or Mastercard to pay the non-refundable application fee of $120 for domestic applicants or $175 for international applicants.

Apply now

Information sessions

Prepare for a strong start in your chosen program or get the details you need to decide your future path.

Our expert staff and faculty are ready to answer your questions and provide information about the following:

What sets SAIT apart
An introduction to the program and area of study
Admission requirements
Future career paths
Information on the earning potential and graduate employment rates.

Contact us

School for Advanced Digital Technology Advising

Phone: 403.284.8543
Email: sadt.advising@sait.ca

International Student Advising

Phone: 403.284.8852
Email: international@sait.ca

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Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.

SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.

We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.

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Business Intelligence Data Analysis and Reporting

On this page:

Overview