Building on a $44 million renovation and the strength of its business college, the University of Northern Iowa announced today that it is offering two new programs for the fall 2022 semester, including one that will be the first of its kind in Iowa. 

The new Bachelor of Science in Automation Engineering Technology (AET) is the first degree of its kind in the state. The degree is offered through the Department of Applied Engineering & Technical Management – housed in the Industrial Technology Center, which will soon undergo a $44 million renovation. The new Bachelor of Arts in Business Analytics program will be part of the Department of Management in UNI’s top-ranked College of Business. 

Both programs were approved Wednesday by the Iowa Board of Regents. 

Through a combination of industry-relevant training and hands-on experience, the AET program will help students apply their knowledge of automation engineering technology to industry and manufacturing for process control and system review. It will equip students to work in one of the fastest-growing areas of technology with the demand being particularly great in the automotive, metal casting and energy industries. 

The AET program combines elements of UNI’s electrical engineering technology (EET) program and the manufacturing engineering technology (MET) program. Because only two-year programs in automation engineering technology exist in Iowa, this new degree option is especially enticing for incoming students. With the similarities to EET and MET, there is also the hope that some students in the department will double major.

“UNI is proud to be the first in the state to offer this type of program,” said Chris Shaw, Recruitment Coordinator in the Department of Applied Engineering and Technical Management. “We can clearly see this is a skillset employers are looking for, and we’ve worked hard to offer a program that will meet their needs and become a premier place in the state for students to thrive.”

Even at a national level, UNI’s degree will be unique since most programs offered by other universities are heavily theoretical with a large emphasis on engineering. UNI’s program will be more focused on hands-on learning.

The business analytics degree will build on the reputation of the College of Business. The new offering will allow business analytics to expand from an area of emphasis to a major. The need to expand the program is clear as the demand for professionals in this industry is growing. Between 2020 and 2030, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates business analytics jobs will experience 14% growth.

UNI’s program is more than looking at numbers. Business analysts actually see trends, stories, predictions, opportunities when they interpret data. It’s about seeing meaning in the data and recommending business decisions.

“We are excited to build on the strong reputation UNI has established offering business analytics as an emphasis,” said Atul Mitra who is the head of the Department of Management. “UNI knows how to craft successful business programs and there’s no doubt in my mind that our new business analytics program will follow suit.” 

Part of what makes UNI’s program unique is how interdisciplinary it is, drawing on coursework in both management and economics, he said. This partnership provides graduates an understanding of economics to analyze historical trends to predict what would likely happen in the future, and the management skills to recommend and implement those decisions. 

Contact:

Steve Schmadeke, UNI public relations manager, 319-273-6120, steve.schmadeke@uni.edu.