Part 3: Resources to help you fall in love with SAS Viya for Learners

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“And you get a teaching and learning asset!”

Thus might Oprah herself have cried, had she been handing out SAS Viya resources instead of cars. And while there are no free sedans in this post, there are plenty of high-octane learning materials to get you cruising through SAS Viya for Learners.

Providing industry-leading analytics software to academics is great… but it’s even better when you have a clear, useful place to start learning. Yes, there are plenty of full-length, free digital learning courses on the SAS Educator Portal and the SAS Skill Builder for Students – but there are faster ways to preview the power of SAS Viya as a tool for teaching and learning.

Enter: Applied Assets for Teaching and Learning

These assets are bite-sized (often just 1–3 hours) and focus on specific software tools or tasks. In this post, I’m highlighting our SAS Viya for Learners assets, which offer a broader overview of the software and are a great starting – or continuing – point for your SAS Viya learning journey.

In the SAS Educator Portal, they’re found on the right side, here:

And students can find them in the SAS Skill Builder for Students portal with these two clicks:

Students have access to everything that educators do - except for the assets labeled as "Problem Sets" in the next section. We reserve those for the professors, in the hope that they serve as a guide for graded assignments.

The Good Stuff: A Searchable Guide

Who doesn’t love a searchable Excel table to help you choose your next VFL adventure? Here you go:

								eLearning Pathways
Asset Title	Description	SAS Asset Type	Learning Tags	Length	Interface	Data Integration	Analytics Lifecycle Stage	Data Literacy and Data Visualization	SAS Programming	Statistical Analysis and Predictive Modeling
Better (Prompt) Engineering: Leveraging ChatGPT to get started with SAS Coding	This SAS Guided Demo seeks to get coders more comfortable using large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, to help them generate code. We walk through two main cases where LLMs can be particularly useful for those learning new code: (1) in generating a first iteration of syntax, which gets you about 80% of where you need to be and (2) understanding complex code written by someone else. Moreover, we start with best practices on how to interact with LLMs to optimize the output generated.	SAS Guided Demo	Programming; ChatGPT	90 minutes	SAS Studio	Programming	Data exploration Data preparation		SAS® Programming 1: Essentials SAS® SQL 1: Essentials SAS® Macro Language 1: Essentials
Counting Stars: Unpacking Customer Experience using Yelp Reviews	This SAS Guided Demo gets you started with text analytics in SAS Visual Analytics and SAS Model Studio, as well as predictive modeling in SAS Model Studio. It seeks to show you how quickly you can go from data to insights, with data you’ve never seen before.	SAS Guided Demo	Dashboards; descriptive statistics; text analytics; predictive modeling	3 hours	SAS Visual Analytics SAS Model Studio	No Code	Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics		Machine Learning Using SAS Viya Interactive Machine Learning in SAS® Viya® SAS Visual Statistics in SAS Viya: Interactive Model Building Statistics You Need to Know for Machine Learning
Exploring Tennis Players’ Earnings in SAS Visual Analytics	This activity guides students through building an interactive report aimed to better understand the current compensation structure for the sport of tennis. Students will create an informative dashboard to explore the data and create visualizations that identify potential patterns.	Industry Aligned Activity	Dashboards; descriptive statistics	2 hours	SAS Visual Analytics	No Code	Data exploration Disseminate findings Data preparation	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics SAS Visual Analytics 2 for SAS Viya: Advanced
I Spy with My Little Eye: Open-Source Code in my SAS Model Studio Project!	This SAS Guided Demo strives to get you excited about incorporating your favorite Python and R machine learning models into your SAS Model Studio pipelines. We show you how easy it is to incorporate open-source code – and how SAS + open-source integration leads to more robust modeling predictions!	SAS Guided Demo	Predictive modeling and machine learning; Open source integration (R + Python)	2-3 hours	SAS Model Studio		Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings			Machine Learning Using SAS Viya Statistics You Need to Know for Machine Learning Using Python and R with SAS® Viya® for Advanced Analytics
Machine Learning in SAS Model Studio with iLink Telecom, Inc.	This activity exposes students to the wonderful world of machine learning in SAS Model Studio. Assuming the role of Retention Specialist on their first day at iLink Telecom, Inc., students will learn how to create a SAS Model Studio project, alter metadata, execute pre-built modeling pipelines, and incorporate their favorite SAS®9 and open-source code into their modeling.	SAS On-the-Job	Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning;	2-3 hours	SAS Model Studio		Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings			Machine Learning Using SAS Viya Statistics You Need to Know for Machine Learning
Megacorp Acquisition Analysis using Visual Analytics	This problem set gives students the opportunity to practice steps in the analytical lifecycle to help determine if a company should be acquired. Students will practice theses skills using SAS Visual Analytics.	Problem Set	Dashboarding; Exploratory data analysis	2 hours	SAS Visual Analytics	No Code	Data exploration Interpretation and evaluation	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics
Predicting Passenger No-Shows in SAS Model Studio	In this problem set, students reinforce predictive modeling techniques learned in the Machine Learning using SAS Viya Course. Participants create models to predict passenger no-show probabilities for a fictitious airline: AirLincoln. They then choose a champion model and apply it to a scoring data set where show/no-show has not yet occurred.	Problem Set	Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning;	2-3 hours	SAS Model Studio	No Code	Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings			Machine Learning Using SAS Viya Statistics You Need to Know for Machine Learning
Predicting Passenger No-Shows in SAS Visual Analytics	Throughout this activity students learn about statistical and machine learning tools in SAS Visual Analytics (VA). While assuming the role of new employee at AirLincoln, they are guided by a veteran employee who uses a business problem – predicting passenger no-show rates – to illustrate the data lifecycle process. Using SAS VA, students learn how to explore data, create new variables, estimate simple descriptive statistics, run a series of competing machine learning models, and, finally, crown a champion model. The goal is to expose students to statistical and machine learning models in SAS Visual Analytics, and provide a host of follow-up resources for them to learn more independently.	Problem Set	Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning;	2-3 hours	SAS Visual Analytics	No Code	Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics		SAS Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning in SAS Viya: Interactive Machine Learning Interactive Machine Learning in SAS® Viya® SAS Visual Statistics in SAS Viya: Interactive Model Building
Predictive Modeling Tour with Titanic Insurance Co., Inc.	This SAS On-the-Job activity provides a hand-on guide to predictive modeling and machine learning tools in SAS Viya for Learners. Using SAS Visual Analytics, SAS Model Studio, and SAS Studio, student will gain expose to Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning tools across the SAS Viya platform, while also creating descriptive statistics, estimating and comparing machine learning models, and building and enhance visual reports. Student assume the role as Risk Analyst at Titanic Insurance Company, Inc., and help develop a model to determine the factors survival in case the Titanic 2, first sailing in 2025, also sinks.	SAS On-the-Job	Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning;	4 hours	SAS Visual Analytics SAS Model Studio SAS Studio	No Code	Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics		Machine Learning Using SAS Viya SAS Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning in SAS Viya: Interactive Machine Learning Statistics You Need to Know for Machine Learning
Public Policy Analyst for a Day: A Jupyter Tour with SAS, SQL, Python + R	This SAS On-the-Job activity shows learners how they can seamlessly switch from SAS, SQL, R, and Python within Jupyter – under the mantra use the right tool for the job… or more simply, use the tool you know. This activity follows a new policy analyst at the Department of Health and Human Services, who is tasked with understanding how the coronavirus, i.e., COVID19, impacted the labor supply of prime-aged women across the United States.	SAS On-the-Job	Open-source integration; visualizations; statistics	1.5 hours	Jupyter Notebook	Programming	Data exploration		SAS Programming 1: Essentials SAS SQL 1: Essentials SAS Macro Language 1: Essentials	Using Python and R with SAS® Viya® for Advanced Analytics
SAS Software Tour with iLink Mortgage, Inc.	This activity is a hands-on guide to using SAS Studio, SAS Visual Analytics, and SAS Model Studio within SAS Viya for Learners, as students assume the role of Machine Learning Apprentice at iLink Mortgage, Inc. To predict the probability of loan default, students will modify and prepare data, create descriptive visualizations, estimate and compare machine learning models, and build and enhance visual reports.	SAS On-the-Job	Software overview; Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning;	~2 hours	SAS Visual Analytics SAS Model Studio SAS Studio	Programming Low Code No Code	Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics	SAS Programming 1: Essentials	Machine Learning Using SAS Viya Interactive Machine Learning in SAS® Viya® SAS Visual Statistics in SAS Viya: Interactive Model Building Statistics You Need to Know for Machine Learning
SAS Text Analytics with Movie Recommenders Unlimited, Inc.	Students assume of the role of Data Analyst at Movie Recommenders Unlimited, Inc., and use historical film data to predict the next box office smash. Student use text analytics and predictive modeling tools in this SAS On-the-Job.	SAS On-the-Job	Text analytics; Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning;	1.5 hours	SAS Visual Analytics SAS Model Studio SAS Studio	Low Code No Code	Data exploration Data preparation Data modeling Interpretation and evaluation Disseminate findings	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics		Machine Learning Using SAS Viya SAS Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning in SAS Viya: Interactive Machine Learning
SAS Visual Analytics: COVID-19 Activity	As a new hire in a local news agency, you are tasked with leading the COVID-19 Dashboard project. In the SAS On-the-Job, you will create visualizations, build and enhance visual reports, and modify data to meet specifications for analysis.	SAS On-the-Job	Visualizations + dashboarding; statistics	~3 hours	SAS Visual Analytics		Data exploration Disseminate findings	SAS Visual Analytics 1 for SAS Viya: Basics SAS Visual Statistics in SAS Viya: Interactive Model Building

A Few Notes on the Assets

Upgrades are coming – All assets will be updated to match the latest VFL4 version (2025.03LTS). Just give us a little time to update the screenshots – especially your humble author. 😊
Older assets may start in SAS Drive – If an asset was created before 2025.03LTS, the journey will start in SAS Drive, which is no longer part of VFL4. No worries – just use the Applications menu to move along, as noted in the asset instructions.
More is on the way – This list will grow! Check back later to see new additions.

Your Turn

Comment below with:

Which assets you’d like us to update first
Ideas for new VFL4 assets you’d find most useful

Thanks for helping shape the future of SAS Viya for Learners resources!