Changes to ASA Pathway and Microcredentials

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via email:

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As actuaries, you embrace change, from addressing new demands, risks, and opportunities to emerging technologies and tools. We know you are constantly expanding your skills and education to evolve with the world around you. We’re looking to the future of the profession and how best we can help advance actuaries as leaders.

As part of the Society of Actuaries’ (SOA) Long-Term Growth Strategy, Strategies for Success, we invite you to embrace the future of the SOA as we announce empowering changes to the Associate of Society of Actuaries (ASA) education pathway, providing opportunities for recognizing candidates’ achievements, and offering Affiliate membership with benefits that open the door to our candidates’ futures.

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Pathway Changes – Embrace the future, today

We are making changes to the ASA curriculum to meet employer and market demand for actuarial training, in particular the need for increased data analytics coverage and new “soft skills” training in adaptability and change, (AQ or Adaptability Quotient), and emotional intelligence, (EQ or Emotional Intelligence Quotient.)

These changes do not increase travel time to ASA and keep the rigor you know and expect of the SOA exams. This was a primary directive in the design of these vital changes to the pathway.

Below is a brief list of the ASA curriculum changes.

  • Exam P and FM will require less preparation (more accessible and elimination of outdated content)
  • Exam IFM will be eliminated (shift in ASA pathway towards data analytics and certain key concepts will be tested elsewhere in the pathway)
  • Exams LTAM and STAM will be replaced with new exams:
  • Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics (FAM)
  • Choice of either Advanced Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics (ALTAM) or Advanced Short-Term Actuarial Mathematics (ASTAM)
  • Introduction of a new course- Introduction of Advanced Topics in Predictive Analytics (ATPA) (increasing our already strong data analytics coverage)
  • Two new e-Learning modules (offering an increasing emphasis on AQ/EQ topics) with a shorter, streamlined FAP course
  • VEE requirements, Exam SRM, Exam PA, and APC seminar remain unchanged

Do a deeper dive into the details including a side-by-side comparison between current and future ASA pathway, transition rules, and timelines for candidate decision-making and read our FAQ. We will be hosting webcasts (there is a registration link at close of email) so we can present these changes to you and answer more of your questions.

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Recognition Choices – Tailor your education goals and gain recognition of your knowledge and skills

Beginning in January 2022, pre-ASA candidates will also be able to begin work to earn new micro-credentials that recognize and demonstrate to employers their knowledge and skills gained along the pathway to ASA. These “milestone markers” will remain with candidates if they decide to leave the ASA pathway and are also applicable for those choosing to enter the pathway to only earn one or more micro-credential. All elements required to earn these micro-credentials are part of the ASA pathway (no extra steps!) and count in full toward earning the ASA and FSA designations.

These micro-credentials group together pathway components that represent distinct knowledge and skills to demonstrate the level of achievement candidates earn to employers, co-workers and their professional network. Are those AQ/EQ and data science skills driving changes to the ASA curriculum? Yes, those will be incorporated into requirements for each micro-credential allowing candidates the ability to demonstrate and build on those skills for their resume and jobs.

These micro-credentials do not make candidates qualified or “signing” actuaries; that work is reserved for those who earn the ASA and FSA designations. However, they do provide critical marks of candidates’ progress through the system and signal to employers the knowledge they’ve gained. We will conduct an outreach program to employers to build awareness and support for the micro-credentials over the coming months.

To explore the micro-credentials, see the groupings and requirements and answer your questions, go to the transition rules and FAQ pages, and sign up for an upcoming webcast below.

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Affiliate Community – Become an Affiliate Member and access benefits and resources to support your career journey

Whether candidates and students are just beginning to consider an actuarial career, early in their pathway, or are coming close to their ASA, they are a part of the SOA and the actuarial family and we are building a new community for them. Affiliate membership is a new belonging, a foot in the door, and a way for them to connect with their community of other aspiring actuaries. Affiliate membership will provide exclusive access to mentorship, networking, learning, and events to support them in their journey to becoming ASAs and FSAs.

Doors start opening October 2021 for the first Affiliate membership intended for students and those who support them - teachers, professors, career counselors, and non-actuaries who work with students and candidates. Another door opens in January 2022 for an additional, optional Affiliate “professional tier” membership designed for candidates on their pathway to ASA. As Professional Affiliate members, candidates will be able to join most volunteer committees and have access to long-term career and leadership development, peer-based community building and tailored opportunities based on their unique background. More details will be provided on these programs as we approach these launch dates. If you know students, candidates, and others interested in these new ways to affiliate with the SOA, encourage them to sign up for more information.

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Your Questions/Your Feedback

With change comes questions and we are looking forward to presenting these changes, providing answers and listening to your feedback. Please join us for one the following webcasts for members. If you are unable to join, we will be recording and publishing a video on the member homepage on soa.org. You can send your questions in advance to membercomms@soa.org.

Member Webcast 1

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

11:00 a.m – 12:15 p.m. (CT)

Save My Seat!

Member Webcast 2

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. (CT)

Save My Seat!

Roy Goldman, Ph.D., FSA, MAAA, CERA

President, Society of Actuaries

Greg Heidrich

Chief Executive Officer, Society of Actuaries

Comparison of ASA pathways:

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Microcredentials:

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FAQ:
https://www.soa.org/education/general-info/asa-micro-credentials/

Press release:
https://www.soa.org/resources/announcements/press-releases/2021/2021-asa-changes-member/

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My initial likes:

  • I think shifting emphasis in the ASA pathway from finance to analytics makes sense. MFE/IFM felt like the odd duck out when I was taking preliminaries.
  • Turning STAM + LTAM into a fundamental actuarial mathematics exam plus choice of advanced STAM/LTAM is potentially good so that candidates can get the broad fundamentals while a student but then take the more specialized course after they get their first job.

My initial dislikes:

  • Why make P and FM even easier than they already are?\
  • Seems like a lack of foresight to be making another big set of changes just 3 years after the last restructuring.
  • We’ll presumably be down to just two shared exams with CAS, forcing students to choose a track and/or waste effort even earlier than they do now.
  • Microcredentials are pointless. No one outside the industry will suddenly start caring about SOA exams, and within the industry we’ll still just look at the exams a candidate has passed.
  • I don’t see much of a purpose in changing 8-module FAP to 5-module FAP + two extra independent modules (other than facilitating microcredentials).
  • This is going to be a pain to modify exam raise schedules to accommodate all possible transition scenarios.
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My only reaction: I reaaaaally hope they talked with employers about these changes.

Because it’s not clear they even talked with employers about UEC. @Bassooner’s list of dislikes gives an idea of whether employers are going to be happy with this.

I would like to hear reactions from candidates, though. Thoughts?

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reddit thread:

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Are micro credentials like a coursera certificate of completion or an actual professional designation? If they confer a designation will there be professional dues?

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If CAS has to replace IFM with their own thing it’s going to take even longer for them to grade tests.

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This was our nefarious plan to destroy CAS all along! MWA HA HA HA HA

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Choosing between exams (ALTAM/ASTAM) at the prelim level feels really strange to me. I guess you still get exposure to IFM/STAM/LTAM all in one exam and then more in-depth in the chosen one.

Personally I loved MFE (at-the-time) and that guided my choice of the QFI track so I’m sad to see that reduced. It was different because of the finance focus but also… that seems important? I guess it depends how they build it in elsewhere - some of that content fits just fine inside a module.

For the UEC they said 3-4 prelim exams are covered and Probability isn’t one of them. I guess that leaves FM/SRM/FAM… and maybe PA? That’s a lot.

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no joke.
The exam that’s added with removal of IFM is called ATPA (ADVANCED TOPICS IN PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS) which doesn’t sound like an exam to be taken as third exam in college. That means CAS will need to accept something else to replace IFM, like new FAM (which might have overlap with other CAS exams) or make a new exam. In the latter case, I can imagine more students taking SOA exam as their 3rd exam in college as there are more SOA jobs out there.

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From the FAQ:

Once I earn a micro-credential, is there a fee to obtain or retain the micro-credential?

There is no application or processing fee once you have earned the micro-credential.

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From the FAQ:

Can I get credit for any of the new exams from the University-Earned Credit (UEC) program?

To be determined. The final list of UEC eligible exams will be made available in August 2021. Visit the UEC FAQ for more on which universities may participate in the program and other important information.

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Oh, I am loving this. Like, a lot.
I can get some micro credentials fairly easily/quickly. And breaking up stam and ltam is huge for me. Ltam is just such a huge amount of material for me to master and retain for one exam.
I dunno whether this is good for the industry (I think it might be) but I’m loving the idea personally.

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A couple years ago, the CAS and SOA tried to tell us that a merger would make this all a lot easier for everyone.

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I’m not at all sorry, but the way that you phrased that put this image in my mind:

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I wonder if the people behind this brilliant change ever talked to the people behind the brilliant UEC idea.

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Its a real problem now. Wouldn’t you agree? Only two exams in common between the SOA and CAS. That divergence is going to lead to a lot of unnecessary headaches.

I personally was a fan of the merger. Made sense to me then and seeing this all now it makes even more sense.

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The merger may have made sense for college students. However, I am not sure there were any real benefits to current FCAS and ACAS…

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Unrelated, I thought the Pearson testing center was a huge improvement for the CAS. While I definitely think Prometric was better (slightly better equipment, more locations to choose from with more dates, etc), Pearson wasn’t too far behind.

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I bit more reading continues my appreciation for these changes.

Affiliate Community – Become an Affiliate Member and access benefits and resources to support your career journey
Whether you’re just beginning to consider an actuarial career, early in your pathway, or close to achieving your ASA, you are a part of the SOA and the actuarial family and we are building a new community for you. Affiliate membership is designed to support your education pathway. Affiliate membership will provide exclusive access to mentorship, networking, and events to support you in your actuarial journey.
Doors start opening October 2021 for the first Affiliate membership intended for students and those who support you - teachers, professors, career counselors, and non-actuaries who work with you in your candidate journey. Another door opens in January 2022 for an additional, optional Affiliate “professional tier” membership designed for candidates who have earned one of our new micro-credentials on their pathway to ASA. As a Professional Affiliate member, you will be able to join most volunteer committees and have access to long-term career and leadership development, peer-based community building, and tailored opportunities based on your unique background. More details will be provided on these programs as we approach these launch dates. Sign up for updates to stay informed about these new ways to affiliate with the SOA.

Which means that even if I’m not ASA credentialled, I can participate a bit in the SOA if I’m so inclined.

What I’m not seeing are the actual microcredentials - they’re not defined anywhere that I’ve read.

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somewhere in the middle of this pdf