Education and Examination at the SOA

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Education and Examination at the SOA

• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• October 5, 2007

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Education and Examination Goal

• Ensure that all who receive our designations
  (FSA, ASA, CERA)
• have the education they need to succeed and
• demonstrate mastery of that education.

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We achieve that goal by

• Providing relevant educational materials
• Developing valid and reliable examinations and
  assessments
• Ensuring fairness to candidates
• Conducting all processes in a professional,
  courteous, and efficient manner

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The Pathway to our Designations
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Three designations

• Fellow (FSA)
• Fully qualified with one specialty (individual
  life and annuities, group and health, retirement
  benefits, investments, finance/ERM)

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Three designations

• Associate (ASA)
• Mastered fundamental concepts
• Is a member of the SOA, but not with full
  privileges

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Three designations

• Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA)
• Equivalent to ASA in effort
• CERAs are also ASAs
• A special combination of exams and modules with
  an ERM focus.

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Pathway to FSA
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Pathway to CERA
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CERA Notes

• CERAs can become FSAs by filling in the missing
  pieces.
• As ASAs, CERAs have the same membership rights,
  privileges, and obligations.

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The EE Structure

• Volunteers are the backbone of this complex
  system.
• Over 600 volunteers contribute and partner with
  staff.
• Executive Group, Education, Examination and
  e-Learning Committees.

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Operations and Candidate Interaction
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Exam Development, Administration, and Grading

• Central Review Exams Finalized
• Printing Process Volunteers, Staff, and Printer
• Exams Shipping

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Exam Development, Administration, and Grading

• Exams Administered
• Grading Multiple-Choice (ACT)
• Grading Written Answer (SOA Volunteers)
• Grades Released

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Candidate Interactions

• We receive 300 e-mails and 150 phone calls on
  average in a typical day
• The number of e-mails and phone calls is much
  higher during grade release
• Inquiries run the gamut of issues Basic
  administrative questions, credit/conversion
  questions, exam irregularity correspondence,
  complaints from those who fail, etc.

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Myths and Legends

• What candidates think about us
• What we are
• Stories from the front lines

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What candidates think

• We grade on the curve
• Our objective is to restrict membership in the
  profession
• We are unforgiving stodgy bureaucrats
• In other words

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We are the evil enemy
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What we really are

• People who take our role in determining who has
  met our standards seriously
• People who listen and adapt.
• In short, we are

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Wizards!
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Activity this will be graded

• True (or should be true) stories from the EE
  vaults.

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New and Future Developments
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EE in 2008 and beyond

• E-learning modules
• Wider access to SOA members and others
• Continuous improvement
• Strategic planning for leveraging assets
• CBT
• More frequent offerings and converting other
  paper and pencil exams to CBT format

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EE in 2008 and beyond

• Communication skills training to be emphasized at
  Fellowship Admissions Course
• CERA seminars for current SOA members who are
  experienced in ERM
• Participating in discussions for a global ERM
  credential

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EE in 2008 and beyond

• Transparency
• Inform candidates how the system works and their
  exams are created and graded.
• Help candidates understand their exam results.

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EE in 2008 and beyond

• Improving education
• Focus on better materials
• Take a break from changing the exam structure
  every few years

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EE in 2008 and beyond

• Improved academic relations by exploring
• Accreditation of programs leading to
• Granting exam credit for college work