Part III Orientation session
7 January 2015
The Institute Education Team
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Philip Latham, Head of Education
Liz Harding, Education Manager (on maternity leave)
Jennifer Robinson, Acting Education Manager
Karenna Chhoeung, Education Officer
Taylor Dennis, Education Officer
Part III in 2015
MODULE 1
Course 7A
ERM
OR
Any other
Part A or B
PhD
OR
OR
CPA/ICA
OR
CFA
OR
UK ST1 or
ASSA F101 +
online PHI
PLUS
MODULE 2
Course 2A
PLUS
MODULE 3
Course 3A
Life Insurance
Course 2B
Life Insurance
OR
PLUS
Course 6A
Course 5A
General Insurance
Global Retirement
Income Systems
Investment Management
and Finance
OR
PLUS
Course 5B
Course 3B
Investment Management
and Finance
General Insurance
OR
PLUS
Course 6B
Global Retirement
Income Systems
PLUS
MODULE 4
Course 10
Commercial Actuarial Practice
C1 Investments has been discontinued from 2013, but will continue to be recognised for
Part III Module 1.
Members who have not completed Part II 2011 (The Actuarial Control Cycle + Part IIB
Investment and Asset Modeling) must take the Investments Bridging Course if they do not
take any Investments related options in Part III (i.e. C1, C5A or CFA) to become Fellows.
Becoming an Associate
Part I
(Foundation)
Part II
(PART IIA ACC + Part IIB Inv)
3 Year PER
Professionalism Course
Associate - AIAA
All members who met the Associate requirements from 1 January 2010 also meet the requirements to use the designation “actuary”.
Members who completed Part II the Actuarial Control Cycle only (i.e. have not also completed Part IIB Investments) must take the
Investments Bridging Course to become Associates, unless they completed all Part I and Part II study to the exemption standard
before the end of 2009. Part III Course 1 Investments is recognised as the equivalent of the Investments Bridging Course.
Becoming a Fellow
Part I
(Foundation)
Part II
(PART IIA ACC + Part IIB Inv)
Part III
Professionalism Course
Fellow - FIAA
Members who completed Part II the Actuarial Control Cycle only (i.e. have not
completed Part IIB Investments) must take the Investments Bridging Course if they do not
take any Investments related options in Part III (i.e. C1, C5A or CFA) to become Fellows.
Institute delivery of Part III
• Tutorials (3 per semester – except CAP)
• Learning Management System (LMS)
• News forum
• Course calendar of upcoming events
• Discussion forums (managed by Course
Leaders/Fellows).
• Course readings
• Past exams, assignments, tutorial presentations and
tutorial audio
• Institute website - BoE reports
• Access to Institute staff via
education@actuaries.asn.au email
• Study groups (formal/informal)
Assessments Sem 1 2015
• Course 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 5B, 6A
– Participation mark (10%)
– New Exam on computer(90%)
• MCQs (20%)
• Longer answer (70%)
Assessment Sem 1 2015 (cont)
• Module 4 (CAP)
– Post course Assignment(20%)
– Case Study Exam (80%)
• Course 7A ERM
– UK ST9 exam (100%)
– Compulsory attendance at two-day workshop
• UK ST1 Health and Care or ASSA F101
– exam(100%)
– Completion of online Private Health Insurance
course
Pass Criteria Sem 1 2015
• Aggregate mark meets pass mark
• No serious misunderstandings
• NB - Borderlines are reviewed
Multiple Choice exam
• sample questions in the LMS (more later)
• uses an online exam system from ANZIIF
• security built into browser – no Excel or other apps
• 1 hour time limit
• approximately 30 questions
• closed book conditions
• you can bring a calculator
• questions may be 2, 3 or 4 marks
• questions may have…
• one correct answer (radio buttons)
• more than one correct answer (check boxes)
Longer Answer exam
• sample questions in the LMS (more later)
• uses MS Word and Excel
• access to internet blocked
• 3 hour time limit
• ECC have recommended 3 questions
• open book conditions, you can bring…
• A calculator
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• any hard copy textbooks or printed notes
Standard digital materials will be provided
• Textbooks, Course materials, readings (copy protected)
• Associated spreadsheets
Discussion forum participation mark
• All Institute delivered Part III courses except CAP i.e. 2A, 2B, 3A,
3B, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B.
• Candidates will be required to make 6 posts of up to 200
words to the specified discussion forum throughout the
semester (not all at the beginning or end) and be a
considered discussion on some aspect of the course:
– 2 must be original posts that initiate a discussion on some aspect of the
course
– 4 posts must respond critically to other posts
– The overall contributions will be assessed to earn up to 10% of the
assessment for the course
– If you do not make the required 2 original and 4 response posts, you will
be limited to a maximum of 5 marks
– Posts must be made before the end of week 15 of the semester
– Marks for the discussion forum will be given to candidates in their final
results letter
Participation mark marking guide
Marks
Description
2
Candidate meets the minimum standard of 2 original posts and 4 responses to other students’ posts
PLUS
3
Posts are usually well communicated
2
Posts are sometimes well communicated
0
Posts are never well communicated
PLUS
3
Posts usually discuss the issues and recommend a solution or practical difficulties, in the context of the current
discussion (where relevant)
2
Posts sometimes discuss the issues and recommend a solution or practical difficulties, in the context of the
current discussion (where relevant)
0
Posts never discuss the issues and recommend a solution or practical difficulties, in the context of the current
discussion (where relevant)
PLUS
2
Candidate makes additional posts which assist other candidates
*Maximum of 10 marks
If the candidate does not meet the minimum requirement of 2 original posts and 4 responses to other students’ post they
will be limited to a maximum of 5 marks.
Importance of the participation mark
• Do not underestimate the importance of the 10% from the
discussion forum participation mark
• The Chair of the Board of Examiners noted that
– The average marks decreased from the previous semester in 2B and
5A/5B due to fewer students gaining 8 or more marks
– 48% of 2B students received 8 or more marks in S2 2014 compared to 71%
in S1 2014
– In S2 2014 34% of 5A students received 8 or more marks compared to 79%
for 5B in S1 2014
Candidate number
• Candidates will be issued with a candidate number
by email (usually after week 5) which is to be used
for assignments and exams
• Candidate numbers will start with “15” for 2015 and
“1” for semester 1 e.g.151xxx
Part III Pass Rates
Part III Pass Rate
49%
50%
44%
45%
41%
40%
35%
30%
38%
37%
44%
40%
38%
40%40%
36%
34%
39%
37%
33%
40%
35%
42%
37%
30%
Sem 1
25%
Sem 2
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010*
2011*
2012*
* Includes non-Fellows taking C7A ERM.
2013*
2014
Part III Policies and Procedures
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Student Handbook (available soon on web)
Fee relief (50% of full fees)
Special consideration
Students with disabilities
Exam Performance Interviews
Temporary exam centres
Academic honesty
Withdrawal from subjects (early and late)
See the Education > Forms section of the
website: http://www.actuaries.asn.au/studying-with-the-institute/forms
How Part III is different from university
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Greater responsibility for learning
Less structure to study
Imbalance of life roles (competing)
Increased individual pressure
Less contact with others (more isolated)
Open book exams
Complex judgement
Mastery learning approach – requires deep
learning
What you can do to help
• Form links/study groups with people (tutorials,
forums, work)
• Discuss requirements with work
• Be familiar with the web support mechanisms
• Set up a study routine and stick to it !
Motivation – a fun game
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A Part III student has developed a fun
interactive game called StudyRPG to help
motivate students to study.
You enter information about study tasks such
as reading course notes, doing past exams
and get points allocated
There is a leader board that shows the points
scored by all of the registered users
To join up go to www.studyrpg.com
NB – the Institute does not create the content
for this site and does not provide any
technical support. The Institute does not
officially endorse the listed tasks and
allocated points as being the ideal way of
studying to pass the course
Who are the Part III students?
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Over 80% based in Australia
Over 500 enrolments each semester
Majority work in General/Life Insurance
97% have completed Part I and Part II
40% spend 11-15 hours per week studying Part III
(70% spend 11-20+ hours)
• Average time to complete Part III is three years
• 60-80 new fellows qualify each year
Myths and Facts
• The Institute sets pass rates at a certain percentage
– Myth. If you meet the standard, you pass. Last semester the
pass rate was 42%.
• You must pass the assignment or discussion forum
participation mark to pass the subject
– Myth.
• Discussion Forums are just for Q and A
– Myth.
• Qualified Fellows recommend at least 15+ hours of
study per week
– Fact.
• Highly unlikely that you will pass the subject if you
don’t pass the exam
– Fact. Students who fail the exam will generally not pass the
subject, or may fall into the borderline category.
Learning Management System
Course overview
Calendar
Unit readings
Discussion forums per unit
Discussion Forum Participation
Questions