The Actuarial Prfessin Principles f Engagement with Universities prviding accredited Actuarial Science prgrammes 1. What is an accredited actuarial science prgramme? Accreditatin f university prgrammes was intrduced in respnse t the recmmendatins f the Mrris Review (2005). The review prpsed the accreditatin f prgrammes rather than a strictly subject by subject apprach t enable the Institute and Faculty f Actuaries (IFA) t make mre use f universities expertise in teaching and research. Accredited prgrammes are nrmally actuarial science degrees r diplmas which lead t a range f exemptins prviding a student achieves an verall average grade in the degree (nrmally 65% fr undergraduate and 60% fr pstgraduate prgrammes). The purpse f an accredited prgramme is t enable a university t teach a curse that is equivalent t the qualificatin syllabus f the IFA, as ppsed t teaching an identical syllabus. This enables universities t innvate in bth prgramme cntent and assessment methds in particular assessed cursewrk wuld be a nrmal feature f an accredited curse. As part f its annual quality assurance cycle the IFA will attempt t identify and disseminate examples f innvative practice. There is a frmal accreditatin agreement between the IFA and the university that is subject t an annual quality assurance prcess with a frmal reaccreditatin every five years. This agreement details mdule cntent and assessment methds. Between the reviews, minr adjustments t cntent and assessment methds can be agreed by the Independent Examiner (IE), wh is appinted by the Prfessin. An imprtant rle f the IE is t wrk clsely with the university prgramme team t ensure equivalence f standards, and yet give the university scpe fr innvatin. Further infrmatin abut universities that are accredited by the IFA is available n the website, http://www.actuaries.rg.uk/students/pages/university-curses-and-exemptins 2. Requirements n universities prir t accreditatin There are a number f pre-cnditins which wuld indicate a readiness t submit an accreditatin prpsal. The list is indicative rather than definitive and is nt expected that all need t be in place befre a submissin culd be cnsidered. These include: There must an identifiable actuarial prgramme (e.g., BSc, MSc, pstgraduate diplma) which culd cnsist f a named rute r rutes thrugh a larger mdular prgramme At least ne full time r part-time member f the academic staff shuld have qualified as an actuary (it is expected that any university ffering a curse will have at least tw full-time equivalent psts fr qualified actuaries when the curse is launched althugh this requirement wuld be less imprtant if nly sme CT subjects are t be ffered) The university shuld be able t demnstrate a capability fr teaching and research in the relevant academic disciplines
The university shuld be able t demnstrate a cmmitment t an active research agenda f relevance t the IFA The university shuld shw a cmmitment t supprting the actuarial prgramme n a lng term basis and demnstrate a past interest in the prvisin f relevant subjects. The university shuld demnstrate a willingness t wrk with the IFA t enhance actuarial educatin and the Prfessin The university shuld be willing t wrk with the IFA t supprt students actuarial rientatin by demnstrating invlvement with actuarial emplyer rganisatins. 3. The accreditatin submissin prcess 3.1 Accreditatin submissin An initial submissin fr accreditatin frm a university is received which includes inter alia the fllwing material: Aims and bjectives f the prgramme and a statement f why the university wants t ffer an accredited prgramme Teaching and learning and assessment strategy in rder t demnstrate hw the aims and bjectives f the prgramme will be met Syllabus cntent including a mapping t the equivalent IFA syllabus and an explanatin f majr differences in syllabus areas cvered. In particular a ratinale fr mitting tpics that are included in the IFA syllabus and an indicatin f what tpics are deemed t replace them. At present the Prfessin is nt prepared t ffer exemptin thrugh accreditatin frm subjects CT9, CA2 r the SA series Assessment and grading prcesses with examples f assessments and examinatins including a summary f current experience f ffering examinatins in relevant subjects. Except in subject CA3, assessment shuld be at least 70% by unseen written examinatins and the whle assessment prcess must be equivalent t that used by the IFA Existing and planned links with emplyers including placements (if any) in rder t demnstrate emplyability f graduates within the Prfessin A statement f the resurces available fr students n the prgramme t demnstrate that the required standard f utput can be achieved. The statement shuld refer t: Staff CVs IT facilities and student access t them Library and related facilities Student wrklads Cntact hurs per actuarial subject
Entry prfiles f students t the prgramme t enable cmparisn between universities n entry standard. Any available statistics n emplyment recrds f past students as a measure f relevance f the prgramme t the Prfessin A statement n hw the pre-requisites fr submissin are met An verview f hw the prgramme will be quality assured by the university. 3.2. Initial review f the accreditatin submissin An initial review f the material wuld be carried ut by ne r mre staff actuaries and ne r mre vlunteers with apprpriate examining experience. Unless the utcme f this initial review is t reject the submissin, an Accreditatin Panel will be established and the steps in the fllwing sectins carried ut. Any prpsal t reject an initial submissin must be brught t Educatin Cmmittee. In the event f immediate rejectin, reasns wuld be given in writing t the university. 3.3. Accreditatin pre-meeting Fllwing the initial review f the submissin, an Accreditatin Panel, cmprised f the IFA s Directr f Educatin, Secretary f the Educatin Cmmittee, a member f Educatin Cmmittee r f the Bard f Examiners, the Registrar r Deputy Registrar and an external academic r practitiner, will take part in an accreditatin pre-meeting t discuss the submissin further and t set the agenda fr the accreditatin meeting. Fllwing this stage the deputy registrar will cntact the university if further infrmatin is required. 3.4. Accreditatin visit It is envisaged that an Accreditatin Panel will visit the university fr a prgramme level accreditatin visit. At a minimum this will take half a day but it is mre likely that a full day will be needed. The visit will include; A meeting with the management f the Faculty/Schl/Department The pprtunity t review mre strategic issues e.g. resurces A meeting with the Prgramme Team t discuss issues f cncern frm the dcumentatin submitted A meeting with students (n cmparable curses). A meeting with emplyer cntacts A review f resurces available fr the prgramme. 3.5. After the Accreditatin visit A reprt f the accreditatin meeting will be cnfirmed by the accreditatin panel. This will then be sent t the university prgramme team fr review. (Nrmally within 4 weeks f the
accreditatin meeting) If the university team have questins r issues abut the reprt, these will have t be reslved at first by crrespndence via the deputy registrar. Once the reprt is agreed the recmmendatin is made t the Educatin Cmmittee, and the decisin f the Educatin Cmmittee will then be reprted t the university. The decisin will be: T apprve the submissin in whle r in part with r withut cnditins and recmmendatins T reject the submissin. If the applicatin is rejected the Prfessin will write t the university stating the reasns. If the applicatin is apprved the IFA will appint tw IEs t versee the prgramme. An accreditatin agreement will be drawn up and a cpy will be signed by the IFA and by the university. Apprval fr accreditatin will be limited t a maximum perid f five years. An accreditatin fee f 3000 plus VAT is charged fr each accredited prgramme. 4. Requirements fr accredited prgrammes nce apprved 4.1. Prgramme syllabus The underlying principle f equivalence is that standards will be maintained but that cverage f cntent can vary. The universities will keep in mind their wn academic bjectives when planning their syllabuses and innvatin is encuraged. The syllabus fr an accredited curse will be viewed as a whle and althugh key bjectives f the prfessinal syllabus must be cvered there need nt be 100% cverage, and syllabuses with greater breadth and/r depth than the prfessinal syllabuses in sme areas will be acceptable, even at the expense f ther areas being treated in less detail. The extent f any divergence will be discussed and agreed at the applicatin stage. The university will need t infrm the IFA in writing f any prpsed additinal significant changes and these will need t be agreed. Minr changes in any ne year t the syllabus can be agreed between the university prgramme team and the IEs wh will ntify the Registry f the changes t enable a central recrd t be kept. All actuarially relevant mdules taught n the prgramme will frm part f the assessed prgramme, and the marks will be included in the average mark required fr accreditatin purpses. This includes elective curses that d nt map directly t a part f the IFA syllabus. Fr example a curse in using Excel wuld be included in the average, while a curse in Business French wuld nt. Where a university runs a mdular prgramme there may nt be a ne t ne crrespndence between the IFA s subjects and the department s mdules. If this is the case a mapping frm the curse mdules t the IFA s syllabuses shuld be prvided. The Registry will advise universities and IEs f any changes t the IFA s syllabus. The IFA will cnsult university prgramme teams n any frmal reviews f its syllabuses that are carried ut.
The universities views n syllabuses, where there is grwing divergence frm current IFA syllabuses will be used t infrm the Educatin Cmmittee s thinking n syllabuses thrugh the University Liaisn Frum. 4.2. Subject by subject exemptins As stated in sectin 1, the purpse f an accredited curse is t allw universities flexibility and innvatin in the material taught and the methds f assessment. Thus btaining the required average mark gives students a blck f exemptins. Withut the benefit f the averaging sme students may nt have achieved all the exemptins n an individual basis. Accreditatin is therefre an all r nthing ffering, which is unlikely t be acceptable t students. Students will nt enter a curse where, if they miss the average mark by 1%, they cme ut with n exemptins. Therefre students will demand and thus universities will ffer sme fall back qualificatin is the accreditatin average is nt achieved. This is likely t invlve individual subject exemptins. If subject by subject exemptins are t be cnsidered fr candidates wh d nt achieve the accreditatin blck exemptins, there will need t be a clser matching t the IFA s syllabus. Details f the university mdules that map t the Prfessin s examinatins will be agreed at the applicatin stage and included in the accreditatin agreement. Where subject by subject exemptins are ffered, the exemptin mark will be set by the IFA s appinted IEs. 4.3. Style and frmat f accredited university prgramme examinatins The IFA s examinatins have n chice f questins but the universities may, fr their wn purpses, wish t ffer chice in their examinatins. A chice f questins wuld nt autmatically preclude exemptins being granted. Hwever it may be necessary fr university examinatins t indicate key tpics cmpulsry sectins r questins fr thse seeking exemptins. The IE has t be cnfident that the university is examining the students in a prfessinal way, e.g. cverage f the syllabus in lectures is cmplete even if the examinatin paper has sme elements missing. This wuld be dne thrugh discussins. The IE will check that the syllabus cverage ver a number f years is apprpriate and cmplete. The prfessinal examinatins have papers f 3 hurs each except fr CA3 where the assessment invlves practical presentatins as well as a written paper, and takes place ver a lnger perid. Sme variatin in examinatin duratin is acceptable especially if the syllabus cverage fr ne prfessinal paper is achieved ver mre than ne university mdule. This will be discussed and agreed as part f the accreditatin prcess. The IFA examinatins have reading time f 15 minutes fr the Cre Applicatins and Specialist Technical stages examinatins nly. If a university ffers reading time fr all r fr n examinatins the IEs shuld bear this in mind when assessing the difficulty f the examinatin and the exemptin mark fr subject exemptins. The university shuld be testing similar skills t the Prfessin s papers, i.e. knwledge, applicatins and prblem slving skills. Hwever, as the university papers are aimed at grading candidates whereas the prfessinal papers are pass/fail tests, the balance f types f questins
may differ. Higher rder skills might be mre apprpriately assessed thrugh cursewrk r an extended essay. 4.4. Accredited prgramme cursewrk The IFA encurages innvatin in assessment methds within cursewrk Cursewrk where pssible shuld assess students applicatin f knwledge in ways nt pssible in a frmal time cnstrained examinatin setting Cursewrk shuld nrmally be n mre than 30% f the assessment fr an accredited prgramme Ideally cursewrk shuld nt cnsist entirely f grup exercises, but a prprtin f individual wrk and/r class tests shuld be included, t avid unduly crediting a sleeping partner in a grup. Prgramme mdules that d nt map directly nt the IFA s syllabus, particularly ptinal elective curses need nt be examined by a written examinatin. The university can prpse any frm f assessment that it cnsiders apprpriate. 4.5. Detailed rules fr accredited curses The fllwing rules are applied t all accredited curses if exemptins are t be awarded thugh accreditatin. This is nt an exhaustive list, and there are specific arrangements in certain circumstances, fr example if a curse includes bth CT and CA/ST subjects. The student must achieve the accreditatin average mark, acrss all actuarial mdules. The student must pass the degree r diplma fr which they are registered at the university. The student must pass all actuarial mdules at the university pass mark, withut taking any cmpensatin r cndnement int accunt. Re-sit marks can nly be cunted fr exemptins where the student needs t re-sit a mdule in rder t btain the university qualificatin r t prgress t the next stage f the curse. Students may nt re-sit mdules with the intentin f increasing their mdule marks slely fr subject by subject exemptins. The maximum mark fr a re-sit mdule that can be included in the calculatin f a student s exemptin mark is the pass mark. 5. Quality Assurance f accredited prgrammes 5.1. Independent Examiners IEs are appinted n an annual basis up t a maximum f fur years. In instances where bth IEs have served fur years the IFA will request that ne stays n fr an additinal year t prvide cntinuity. The key rle f IEs is t assure the cnsistency and quality f academic standards acrss universities and t ensure that they are cmparable t the standards f the Prfessin s examinatins. In general tw IEs are appinted fr each accredited curse, and in nrmal circumstances ne wuld be an academic and ne a practitiner.
The main task is t wrk with the university prgramme team t ensure that the accreditatin agreement is being fllwed, and t prvide advice and assistance t the university prgramme team. The IEs can apprve minr changes t curse cntent and assessment techniques. IEs will infrm Registry f any changes agreed. The IEs are expected t liaise with the university s external examiners regarding the assessment methds and results f the curse and t attend university Exam Bard meetings. It is pssible fr the IFA s IE t als act as the university s external examiner. The IEs review examinatin papers during the setting prcess, and als review a sample f scripts and cursewrk briefs after the examinatin. The aim is t ensure that the standard f student gaining exemptins thrugh accreditatin is bradly the same as the standards set by the IFA either t qualify r t mve t the next stage f the examinatins. IEs are respnsible fr agreeing with the University the list f students wh are recmmended fr exemptins frm each accredited curse. Students wh are nt n these lists will nt be eligible fr exemptins. The IEs fr all accredited curses meet tgether annually with the main aim f sharing best practice. All independent examiners are encuraged t attend this meeting. 5.2. Quality Assurance visits This is an annual meeting f the Deputy Registrar (Quality Assurance) and either the Directr f Educatin r the Secretary t Educatin Cmmittee with the University prgramme team at which issues relating t the health f the prgramme are discussed. These include: Staffing and innvatin in the prgramme Any prpsed curriculum changes Links with the Prfessin Issues arising frm the annual review panel (see 6.4 belw) Destinatin f graduates and prprtins jining IFA Current research activities and future planned research University wide quality assurance reviews, if any Placements and internships fr students Other items suggested by the university. Time is als spent with: Students n the prgramme t investigate the student experience and discuss any pints arising frm the annual student survey. University careers staff t discuss the emplyment experience f graduates frm the curse and t ensure that links with the Prfessin wrk well The IFA will share the ntes f the meeting with the Prgramme Team fr their cmments. The ntes will frm part f the annual reprt cmplied n each accredited prgramme fr the annual Quality Assurance Panel meetings. 5.3. Quality Assurance Panel meetings These are held annually, ne fr undergraduate prgrammes and ne fr pstgraduate prgrammes. A quality assurance panel cmprising the Chair f Educatin Cmmittee, the Secretary f Educatin Cmmittee, a member f the Bard f Examiners, an IE the Directr f
Educatin and the Registrar and/r Deputy Registrar meet t cnsider the perfrmance f each curse. The IEs fr the prgramme attend by cnference call. The meeting reviews results, changes in the prgramme, administrative issues, the destinatin f past students and their subsequent success in the Prfessin s exams. Issues f cncern and areas f gd practice are cmmunicated t the university wh are asked t respnd with cmments. The Quality Assurance meetings generate a reprt fr Educatin Cmmittee. 5.4. University Liaisn Frum This is an annual meeting f the directrs f actuarial science and related curses at universities. Again the main bject is fr universities t share best practice, but it als prvides a frum t discuss prpsed changes in the prfessin s syllabus and ther matters. 6. Re-accreditatin reviews Each accredited prgramme will be reviewed after five years, r at an earlier time as determined by the Educatin Cmmittee. An Accreditatin Panel, cmprising the IFA s Directr f Educatin, Secretary f the Educatin Cmmittee, ne f the IEs fr the relevant prgramme, the Registrar r Deputy Registrar and an external academic r practitiner will be established fr each review. 6.1 Issues t be cnsidered by the Reaccreditatin Panel Reaccreditatin Panels will review evidence n the prgress f the university prgramme including sme r all f the fllwing: the utcme f the IFA s annual reviews fr the prgramme a written submissin frm the University addressing specific issues raised during the currency f the existing accreditatin agreement details f changes t the prgramme since the prgramme was riginally accredited published quality assurance material n the university frm the Deputy Registrar the utcme f any internal reviews that are available statistics n the number f (verseas) students returning hme; number f students wh have and have nt jined the Institute and Faculty details f graduate recruitment frm the prgramme essentially f hme students feedback frm emplyers The Panel will als:
review hw the bjectives f the Mrris Review have been met thrugh the prgramme, in particular, the extent t which any research dne within the University has been brught int the teaching review the effectiveness f the University s administrative prcedures and the effect these have n the IE s wrklads meet with the university t discuss the prgramme including meetings with current students, relevant teaching and research staff and careers advisrs as necessary. 6.2 Reprt t Educatin Cmmittee The Re-accreditatin Panel will agree a draft reprt fr Educatin Cmmittee and invite cmment n matters f fact frm the university. The Panel will make recmmendatins t the Educatin Cmmittee n the future accreditatin f the prgramme including any cnditins and/r recmmendatins. The IFA will write t the university setting ut the Educatin Cmmittee s decisin. If the prgramme is being reaccredited a fee f 3000 plus VAT is charged and nce received, a new accreditatin agreement will be prepared and signed by the IFA and the university.