Exam confidentiality rules

Can anyone point to the exact terms we agree to when we sit for an exam, regarding nondisclosure of exam questions? I can’t find it on the CAS website, just that we have to agree to them before registering.

do you mean this?

https://home.pearsonvue.com/candidate-rules/professional-regulatory-letter

from:

https://home.pearsonvue.com/Clients/Casualty-Actuarial-Society.aspx

There’s also this, starting on page 27:

Thanks. #8 in the first link says

A Non-Disclosure Agreement or other security statement may be presented to you before the test begins. If so presented, you must read, acknowledge, and agree to the terms and conditions of such document within the specified time limit, if applicable, in order to begin your test. Should you not agree, you will not be permitted to proceed with taking the test and you may forfeit your test fee. If you select “DECLINE,” your test session will immediately end.

I’m looking for a copy of that NDA. I think it’s closely related to your other link (page 27), though that’s the discipline policy, not the actual NDA, which I believe is similar but not quite the same.

I’m trying to recall if there was a separate NDA the last time I sat, and I don’t remember seeing one other than a printed laminated version of what was in that first link, sorry…

Hi. I am not planning on taking an actuarial exam, but I would be curious what the NDA says.

I have a quirky interest in copyright. I am not a lawyer. But my understanding is that math problems, even word problems, are generally not copyrightable because they are more like facts and because they do not pass the rather low bar for copyright creativity.

However, when a math problem appears on an exam, it may become copyrightable because the examiner made creative decisions on which problems to put on the exam, and because the examiner may have added creative value by making decisions on the question’s difficulty, validity, etc. If a copyrighted item is copied without permission and without being permitted by a statutory exception such as Section 107 on Fair Use, then this is copyright infringement and there could be legal penalties. The specifics of an infringement would be decided in court.

Copyright is like speeding in a car. Speeding is illegal whether you are caught or not, regardless of the magnitude, and an individual cop or judge has a lot of discretion. Ten or fewer miles per hour over the speed limit is not the law. Copyright is similar. Social media is full of copyright violations, and many copyright owners choose to ignore the violations. There is also a legal principle of de minimis - the law is not concerned with trivial violations.

Nevertheless, if you are copying exam questions, whether there is an NDA or not, you are taking a risk.

Any comments?

I would suspect that, from the perspective of both the exam candidate as well as the CAS, the potential sanctions for violating copyright laws (if any) are far outweighed by the sanctions for violating exam confidentiality.

Agreed. I am just trying to add a different perspective.