Business instructor shares enthusiasm for analytics – and online learning

Richard Crabb is a lecturer in risk and insurance with the Wisconsin School of Business. Having worked in management consulting, a financial management startup and in the insurance industry, Crabb teaches undergraduate courses that include UW–Madison Online students. In this video and article, he shares about engaging online students, the benefits of lifelong learning, the advantages of a UW–Madison degree and his love for analytics.

The power of data

My passion has always been data, from my graduate work, where I focused on the stock market, to management consulting, where I focused on stock options and compensation. Everything was about data. 

I’m old enough to remember one of my first jobs when everyone sat in a room and told their story about what they thought should happen if we made different decisions. The decision-maker listened to everyone and decided what they thought was the most compelling story. I thought, there’s got to be a better way to make decisions. That focused me on data work and recognizing that there is so much data out there that we can look at and use to help us. 

We all have cognitive biases, so how can we get past them and look at data in these different fields to make the best decision? That’s what drove me to be an actuary and then eventually to leading analytics of multiple companies. It was all about using data to make the best decisions, getting past personal beliefs and asking, What is the data telling us, and how can we make better decisions?

Today, every company everywhere is using data and looking for people to help them make sense of it. The purpose is always the same: Help us understand our customers and make better decisions. I love this field, and I love the fact that it’s growing and there is a huge demand for students to work in analytics. 

Engaging students online

As an instructor at UW–Madison, my job is to make it easier for students to engage, whether they are in person or online. For example, I have a weekly schedule with assignments and then wrap it up with a quiz to keep students motivated and on track. We keep things in short snippets – every video will be 10 minutes or less. We provide brief, impactful learning where you can listen, answer online questions and get immediate feedback. The goal is to keep you engaged and motivated and help you stay on schedule. 

I understand it is hard for students to juggle multiple priorities while getting a fully online degree. You have to set your own schedule and be your own boss. I asked students for the best times for office hours, and I found that for adult students, it was nights and weekends, so we made that happen. I also commit to consistently reading and responding to emails so students know they will have an answer at a certain time.

It’s important to engage returning adult students, but they also engage the class with their experience. I had one adult student, a business owner, who was a bit skeptical about what we could provide her. Throughout the course, she asked challenging questions and provided real-world examples. By the end of the class, she sent me a note saying she had learned useful information and was starting to use it in her business.

Benefits of lifelong learning

It’s fantastic that students are so engaged and focused on improving themselves and getting their next job or promotion. Lifelong learning helps us acquire new knowledge and skills to move us forward. 

The people who keep learning are going to excel. Our world is evolving, for example, with AI, and jobs are changing. A job three years from now is going to be very different from a job today, and if you aren’t constantly learning and updating your skill set, you will fall behind. The folks who engage and learn new technology will further their careers and have success. 

They’ll also have more fun with their jobs! For those who stay current, the potential rewards are phenomenal, and on top of that, you can have so much fun with your job, for example, working with AI and seeing what it does well and what it does poorly. All it takes is curiosity and a willingness to learn something that will help you now and in the future.

What a degree can do for you

Working with returning adult students is fun because we can talk about how theories and ideas apply in the real world. I also get to ask them questions about their goals. Many are already successful in their career, so why are they coming back to school? 

The answer I often get is that they want to do something different, and today, most higher-level jobs require a college degree. Many say it’s hard for them to move because they don’t have that degree. We all tend to get a little specialized in our jobs, and a business degree can offer the ability to look cross functionally and learn about other areas, like marketing, accounting and finance, or understand organizational behavior and supply chains. 

If you want to be a cross-functional leader or move up inside a company, you have to understand how a company works. A business degree is one of the best ways to do that. 

People across many industries in the business world respect the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Wisconsin School of Business. It’s a great place and a wonderful opportunity to get a valuable degree. You’ll find amazing networks of people, and a degree from this institution could skyrocket your career.

For more information, email [email protected] or schedule a meeting with a UW–Madison Online enrollment coach.