I would like to propose a potential enhancement to the SAS Viya for Learners environment that could further strengthen its value in an academic context, particularly in preparing postgraduate students for industry.
I am aware that the full licensed version of SAS Viya used in industry provides access to a broader set of Model Studio functionalities, including the Scorecard Node and Reject Inference Node. However, these are currently not available in the SAS Viya for Learners environment that we use for teaching.
Given that we are training Master’s students who typically transition into industry roles using the full SAS Viya platform in the following year, it would be highly beneficial if these nodes could be made available in the learners’ environment— even with limited functionality (for example, with certain options disabled). Early exposure would help students develop familiarity with the full modelling workflow and better understand the tools they will encounter in practice.
In addition, we have noted that the Interactive Grouping Node in the learners’ version does not currently support enforcing monotonic trends in binning or the assignment of special codes. While this is a secondary consideration, functionality in these areas would further enhance the learning experience.
As we train a large cohort of students each year, increasing alignment between SAS Viya for Learners and the full industry version would significantly contribute to their readiness for professional practice.
