In this course, accessing data is integrated throughout the semester via Consulting Team Labs. The Consulting Team Labs produce three deliverables: an updated HTML and PDF economic impact report, a set of census-tract maps built from ACS data for use in presentations, and a final oral presentation. Students perform live weekly economic impact studies for Sustainable Alamance, a Burlington nonprofit. Teams collect recidivism records, public incarceration cost data, participant wage figures, and American Community Survey files. Student also learn to document sourcing decisions and the ethical consideration, including involved — participant privacy, data provenance, and the limits of proxy measures. Student continue to apply ethical reasoning in a Journal Replication Project, where students evaluate a published study’s data collection methodology and identify where it holds and where it strains. Students use software tools, including Excel, IMPLAN, and ACS, to visualize data, analyze data, and develop models estimating relationships among variables. Achieves technology student learning outcomes c, d, and e.

Approved for Data Intensive Course Designation starting Fall 2026.