Excel Analysis

Information Literacy Reminders:
These assignments are open-ended by design and are meant to simulate the type of instructions you would get in a work environment. The goal is to get you comfortable working with datasets and interpreting information. In addition, these activities build the “critical thinking muscle” by requiring you to consider the information resource more critically than you may have previously done. When you are performing your analysis in any given assignment, remember to place context on all data and link it to the relevant course concepts. Your conclusions in any given assignment should be supported by your observations/analysis and demonstrate your comprehensive understanding of the topic(s). These assignments are submitted via D2L.
Instructions:
This is an independent assignment, meaning that you may not collaborate with a friend. If you talk together about the assignment and brainstorm ideas, you must be sure that what you turn in is only your work. Be sure to cite ideas that came from others, even if you are not quoting them (e.g., group discussions suggested that…). Do not present an idea as your own, if it is not.
When you upload your assignment to the D2L Assignments folder, you are stating that the work is your own. All assignments will be evaluated through Turnitin, so any metadata that is not your own will flag an Academic Integrity Review.
After you download the Excel Analysis Data file associated with this assignment, please look through the data, and then respond to the following questions that are used to assess your Information Literacy skills. This assignment asks you to think about when analysis tools like Charts, Filter & Sort, and PivotTables are useful for business decisions.
Erica Wagner, your boss, sends you this Excel file and gives you the following information. She says she wants your analysis when she returns next week from a week-long conference.
“Now that we have the new Karl Miller Center, I want to show how well we are utilizing the space. I also need to get a sense of the patterns of class time popularity. Use the Excel file to help me build a case for each of these things. I need supporting evidence and an executive summary of what you found so I can present it to the Provost at the end of next week. Thanks!”
Your Deliverable:
• Write up your findings in an Executive Summary that is 800 words or less (If you can fulfill the requirements with fewer words that is great but be sure to address all the requirements) that answers your boss’ questions. At this point, you should be very comfortable with some of the analytical tools within Excel, and this is an opportunity to show that. Be sure to follow the guidelines set in the BA 325 Information Literacy Expectations and the BA 325 Information Literacy Assessment Rubric (You may use any font size/style/paragraph spacing/line spacing that you are comfortable with). Use screen clippings of the analysis you did in Excel as evidence to support your conclusions (75%).
• Also submit your Excel workbook that shows your calculations, charts, figures, tables, etc. (25%).