Also canadian civilization didn’t crumble as a result. I bet virtually nothing comes from this.credwntials will not be watered down.
I know too many people who got actuarial science degrees from Penn State and then went on to be unable to pass exams to not be very concerned that this will water it down.
I hear this all the time. If it’s true then the students can simply demonstrate the knowledge they’ve picked up in college by PASSING THE FREAKING EXAMS.
The fact that someone thinks this is needed is evidence that your statement is not actually true.
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No, the Canadian system is proof that accreditation is tougher than passing exams. I’ve personally passed soa exams for courses that I did not receive accreditation for, I’ve seen both sides. And I passed the soa exam first.maybe I’m not very bright, that’s certainly up for debate.
Ultimately the point is that accreditation, done properly does not water down the credentials, and you’ve got empirical proof right in the Canadian system that it doesn’t. And frankly, I’m not actually arguing that accreditation is more difficult (though in my experience, it actually is). I’m pointing out that it doesn’t water down the credentials.
I assume that simply passing the courses is not sufficient. In Canada, you have to get 80’s across multiple courses. That’s not most people, and it’s not most people writing the exams. If simply passing with a 50 was sufficient, I’d be an asa right now. Hell, if getting 75s was sufficient I’d probably be an asa right now.
But getting an actuarial degree does not give you accreditation in Canada. I assume that this is also true in the us. If it’s not, I retract everything I said. But I expect the soa is demanding marks high enough that there’s little doubt of competence.
Diversity gets bipartisan support. Even Trump is in favor of diversity publicly, and he’s about as far right as we’re going to get when it comes to mainstream politics.
Remember that it was George W Bush who approved lowering lending standards even further with the support of both Repubs and Dems.
I’m not sure if the US actuarial science programs have as high standards as the Canadian ones.
The difference between that and what the SOA is proposing is that diversity is driving the SOA’s decision, not academic standards. Canada is mostly white and Asian, and they have a merit-based immigration system. Blacks make up only 2.9% of the population, so politicians don’t really pander to them.
The SOA literally stated that diversity is the goal for these changes. How do you think the SOA is going to increase diversity if they’re going to make it even harder than it is now? It’s impossible. Anytime you increase standards, you LOSE people across all racial backgrounds, and since there aren’t many URM actuaries as it is, you might make them go extinct if you make it even harder.
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All they need to do is lump Asians into the minority group
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Asians aren’t considered diverse when it comes to academics and professional societies.
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They don’t, and it’s unlikely that this new program will increase standards.
On the flip side, I feel the preliminary exams will also be made easier. It’s not a coincidence that many of the exams seem to have 60-70% passrates recently. I could definitely see exam passrates as high as 80 to 90% when this program fully matures. That way, people like you won’t be able to complain about classes being easier than exams. My advice is to just get your FSA and think of your ASA credential as toilet paper. 
Hmmm, I worked for a Canadian national who proclaimed that actuarial science degrees were “worthless”.
Other than Waterloo, which other Canadian universities are part of the exam waiver program? I’m curious if boss’s school (not Waterloo) was one of the schools that offered this.
Would you be complaining as much if prelims also got easier (99% passrate)? That’s where we’re heading (Look at recent pass rates). Sounds pretty petty to discuss whether classes or exams are easier if both have 99% completion rate.
Are pass rates up because the exams are getting easier or are they up because students are better prepared?
My guess is it’s the latter. When I took exams I’d taken precisely zero courses in actuarial science. And some of the prep materials were great and some were dreadful. (a co-worker told the story of being super confused by the macroeconomics study note for weeks until he saw the errata sheet that specified something along the lines of “on pages 4 - 97 switch the words “supply” and “demand”.)
I was under the impression that the study materials have improved a LOT and the fact that a substantial portion of exam-takers have had collegiate coursework in the material meant that they just knew the material better.
That’s not watering down the credential, in my opinion.
If my impression / understanding is wrong and the exams really are objectively easier then that’s different.
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Other exams have better study material as well (The Coaching Actuaries guy has a similar site for CFA), and none of them have seen increased passrates. In fact, some of them have been going down (Pharmacy).
It’s unlikely that better material led to high passrates. More likely explanation is that exams got easier.
Are the exams getting harder in order to keep steady pass rates?
Pharmacy did get slightly harder, but the difficulty has flat-lined since the recent change and passrates have remained stable.
Again, these exams and other professional exams mostly tested grit and endurance. Study material isn’t going to make a lazy person studious. It’s highly unlikely that the proportion of lazy people in this field went down 20-30% within the last 10 or 20 years.
No, but if they mean that more people are able to absorb the material then I’m ok with more of them passing.
You may be right on an individual level, but you’re off when looking in aggregate.
We spend a ton of money hiring the best teachers in inner-city schools. They come from NYCTF, MFA, TFA, and other places, yet overall results continue to be poor with no improvement in sight.
Aggregate performance doesn’t change with better study materials if the old study materials already presented all the information correctly. There are diminishing returns past that.
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I’m not sure when you started pursuing exams, but some of the study materials were pretty dang bad.