Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • May 2018
05
Students

Advent of change

Open-access content Thursday 10th May 2018 — updated 11.00am, Wednesday 6th May 2020

Jason Whalley believes change is inevitable, uncompromising, and generally for the good.

2

—

The IFoA is making changes to the Associate and Fellowship qualification process.

With effect from 2019, the first half of the exam structure is set to be changed, as the Core Technical examinations are grouped together and statistical packages implemented in order to bring the syllabus closer to real-world actuarial work. This will primarily affect the actuarial students who have joined the IFoA within the past few years, as most of the specialist assessments are staying true to their topics and format.

Work-based skills are gradually being phased out of the requirement for qualification as a Fellow; replaced with personal and professional development.

Clearly, the actuarial governing body is striving to update the syllabus to be more in line with the skill set of the modern actuary. Although, ultimately, the task of amending the path to qualification will remain a never-ending job.

The IFoA provides the opportunity for students to speak out about change at the student consultative forum, where student representatives can raise issues as requested and push for resolution.

But what changes would current students like to see in 2018 and afterwards? More opportunities to sit examinations each year? A more objective - and less subjective - mark scheme for the later assessments?

It was not so long ago that exact marks were hidden from students. Unbeknown to some, breakdowns of marks are actually available upon request. Perhaps the IFoA could go one further, if demand was high enough, and provide marked scripts for students - to allow students to identify where they went wrong.

After all, "the greatest teacher, failure is," according to one wise old swamp-dwelling hermit.

CA2 spreadsheets and papers can be submitted online, negating the requirement for an assessment centre. Although an issue with publishing pass lists back in December highlighted the governing body's next area to target for improvement, other technological changes may be just around the corner, if enough people were to call for it. The option to perform examinations using computers - rather than pen and paper - represents a viable alternative for those who can type faster than write. 

Examination centres experience frequent complaints, and such problems could potentially be solved by sitting assessments online - albeit this could introduce complications for those without a stable internet connection.

In recent times there have been calls for clarity on the operations of the IFoA, especially concerning the communications policy. The back-and-forth over CT9 could undoubtedly have been handled more appropriately - and is certainly not the only example of unclear communication that left students in the dark over prevalent qualification issues.

The student consultative forum was recently notified of a request for greater transparency surrounding the marking procedure, of which some students are still not fully aware, and also of the reasons that would cause an additional script reviewer to be involved. 

The papers are marked by two separate examiners and the average mark taken to be the final grade, unless a third reviewer is required - perhaps owing to a high disparity between the two grades. 

However, there have been situations where the same individual scripts were judged to have a difference of up to 24 marks between two different assessors, which calls into question the attentiveness of those involved in marking for the IFoA. 

Furthermore, it should cause concern that a pass or fail could, ultimately, depend on who is allocated to review each script. 

The Student Consultative Forum takes place biannually, and the representatives act to provide a voice to each and every student member of the IFoA. Representatives liaise with the actuarial governing body about certain topics and make sure issues are properly discussed, receiving necessary attention.

Joseph Mills and I are happy to raise any issues at the student consultative forum; please feel free to share your thoughts by contacting us at [email protected] 

This article appeared in our May 2018 issue of The Actuary .
Click here to view this issue

You may also be interested in...

2

No ivory tower

IFoA Regulation Board chairman Desmond Hudson and the IFoA's general counsel, Ben Kemp, talk to Chris Seekings about the profession’s evolving regulatory landscape
Wednesday 9th May 2018
Open-access content
mark

Investing in change

Mark Azzopardi talks with Stephen Hyams about how asset managers advise insurance companies in a rapidly changing world
Tuesday 8th May 2018
Open-access content
2

The challenge of maturity

Costas Yiasoumi and John McAleer discuss the challenges faced by mature defined benefit pension schemes and present a framework for managing their run-off
Tuesday 8th May 2018
Open-access content
2

The great juggling act

The current pace of change in regulatory and accounting standards makes now a better time than ever for firms to revisit their asset liability management strategies, argues Richard Schneider
Tuesday 8th May 2018
Open-access content
2

The case for consolidation

John Herbert discusses the merits of consolidating defined benefit pension plans using a sectionalised master trust approach
Tuesday 8th May 2018
Open-access content
2

A watching brief

Mark Azzopardi, managing director and head of insurance client strategy at BlackRock, has had a varied career in investments, pension consulting, general insurance and banking.
Tuesday 8th May 2018
Open-access content

Latest from May 2018

2

Mandatory climate risk reporting proposed for pension funds

Pension funds may be forced to report their exposure to climate change risks by 2022 under proposals put forward by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) today.
Monday 4th June 2018
Open-access content

Investors warned of 'antibiotic crisis' facing global food companies

The large majority of meat, fish and dairy suppliers across the world are leaving human health at risk by failing to reduce the excessive use of antibiotics in the rearing of animals.
Wednesday 30th May 2018
Open-access content

Investor risk appetite falls amid geopolitical uncertainty

The success of the Five Star Movement and League party in Italy has dampened the appetite for risk among institutional investors across Europe, new research has found.
Wednesday 30th May 2018
Open-access content

Latest from small_opening_image

2

COVID-19 forum for actuaries launched

A forum for actuaries has been launched to help the profession come together and learn how best to respond to the deadly coronavirus sweeping the world.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Travel insurers expect record payouts this year

UK travel insurers expect to pay a record £275m to customers this year as coronavirus grounds flights across the world, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed.
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Open-access content
2

Grim economic forecasts made as countries lockdown

A sharp recession is imminent in the vast majority of developed and emerging economies as the deadly coronavirus forces businesses to shut down across the world.
Tuesday 24th March 2020
Open-access content

Latest from Students

hjb

Nudge, nudge

How behavioural science can shake up insurance. Ciara Izuchukwu explains
Wednesday 1st March 2023
Open-access content
pji

Today's property market: the winners and losers

Kinjal Dalal on the winners and losers in the current UK property market
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Open-access content
uh

The road to understanding

Vrishti Goel examines how data analytics could provide more personalised insurance products, for example within the motor insurance industry
Wednesday 30th November 2022
Open-access content
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Shape the Future of Insurance

London (Central)
£ excellent package
Reference
149090

Senior Pricing Actuary - Life Reinsurance

London (Central)
£ excellent
Reference
149089

Insurance Investment Leadership Opportunities

Flexible / hybrid with 2 days p/w office-based
£ dependent upon experience
Reference
149088
See all jobs »
 
 
 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ