Merry Christmas to All

And a happy 2012!

An Alternative Explanation for the Normal Distribution

I was reminded that the Normal curve has also been described as the Brontosaurus distribution due to its shape.  See the attached proof...


The Brontosaurus Theorem

It's Official- The CIA Has Accredited the U of R Actuarial Program

I'll just quote from the CIA's Memo to Members on December 7, 2011.

The EEC and AC can today reveal that the following universities are accredited (listed in
alphabetical order):
Simon Fraser University;
Université du Québec à Montréal;
Université Laval;
University of Manitoba;
University of Regina;
University of Toronto;
University of Waterloo (undergraduate and graduate program courses); and
University of Western Ontario


I'll post more details about what this means in the future, but starting with the Fall 2012 Semester, students will be eligible for  exemption  from exams FM,  MLC, MFE and C based on their results in U of R courses. 

VEE Corrections

I've reposted my VEE FAQs as I got the course options backwards for the STATS line.

Validation By Educational Experience

I've has a number of inquiries about VEE this month so I thought I'd step through some FAQs both in general and with respect to UofR Courses.  

• What is VEE?
• These are topics that the Society of Actuaries wants you to know about, but that the SOA doesn't want to test you on directly.  There are 3 topics - Applied Statistics, Economics and Corporate Finance.

• How do I get VEE credits?  
• The simplest way is to take the right UofR courses and get a minimum mark of 70% in each of them.  Most of these are courses that you need for your degree anyway.  Based on the current calendar the courses you need are as follows
• For Applied Statistics either
• a 70% in BOTH STAT 354 and STAT 471; OR
• a 70% in ACSC 418
• For Economics
• a 70% in BOTH ECON 201 and ECON 202
• For Corporate Finance
• a 70% in BOTH BUS 285 and BUS 395

• What if I didn't take the right courses?  There are a number of alternate ways of getting VEE credit listed on the SOA web-site.  These are often examinations set by other bodies or on-line coruses aimed directly at meeting VEE criteria.

• When do I need to Apply for VEE with the SOA/CIA?  When you apply for an actuarial designation (ASA, ACIA or CERA) you need to show that you've met all of the criteria - which includes SOA exams, FAP modules and VEE credits.  You can simply supply a copy of your UofR Transcript to show that you've met VEE requirements (or similar transcripts where applicable).

Visit From the SOA

Yesterday we had an on site visit from Stuart Klugman of the Society of Actuaries.  Stuart will be well known to actuaries who have been involved with the educational system of the SOA any time in the last 30 years.  His name will also be known to students who have taken ACSC318, ACSC417 or ACSC419 at the U of R or SOA exam C - since he co-authored the "Loss Models" text used for these courses.

We had a meeting with UofR staff and then a longer session for students.  The latter included three local practising actuaries from the Co-operators (Greg Bacon, Joan Ganas and David Keeper).  We had about 25-30 students in attendence ranging from first years to grad. students.

Thanks to Stuart, Joan, Greg and David for putting on a good show! 

Visit From The SOA

The Society of Actuaries is Coming to the University of Regina on Tuesday November 15th.  Details below.

Visit to University Of Waterloo

Last week I was on an CIA accreditation panel visiting the University of Waterloo.  I was an enjoyable, interesting and educational trip.  A few quick take aways from  my perspective.

1. I was jealous of their resources.  With their large faculty Waterloo has the luxury to cover topics on a regular basis that we at UofR can cover in an occasional directed reading course. 
2. There are advantages to being small!!  The class sizes at Waterloo are a challenge for the faculty - 150 in the fourth year classes is typical.  The sheer bulk size prevents the instructors from using some of their preferred teaching techniques such as project work, student presentations and group work.  These are techniques that the smaller class sizes at UofR allow us to use on a regular basis.
3. It was nice to hear about a UofR grad - Will Du - from a co-worker of his who was on the panel.  Will's working at SunLife in Waterloo and it sounds like he's doing very well there.  It ways a lot for the UofR program that Sun hired Will over Waterloo grads just a few miles away.  Great West and ManuLife have also hired UofR grads over students from the big programs.

Accreditation Process Continues

The CIA's Accreditation panel has a busy August and a busy September to follow.  This month I am involved in Accreditation Panels at Waterloo and Concordia.  All reports indicate that we made a favourable impression with the AP that visited the U of R in August but we'll hear no word on our status until later this fall.

The New term Starts Today

Classes start on Wednesday the 7th, but not til the 8th for the ACSC classes which run Tuesdays and Thursdays only.  Enrolment is up with 33 students registered in ACSC116, the largest class for several years.  We have 4 ACSC classes running this Fall 116 (myself), 317 (Larry Miller), 417 (Taehan Bae) and 419 (myself again).


I had a walk around campus today, and it's absolutely awash in eager young faces.  Here's hoping for a good Fall semester for everyone.

CIA Accreditation Panel Today

Today the U of R has visitors from the CIA (that's the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, not the spies) - an accreditation panel of 4 FCIAs who are here to examine our ACTSCI program.  Hopefully all we go well and we'll be part of the CIA's accreditation program and therefore starting in 2012, U of R students will be eligible to receive a CIA exemption from exams FM/2, MLC, 3L, MFE/3F and C/4.

SOA/CAS Exams Proctored at U of R This Fall Correction

We will be proctoring the pen and paper preliminary exams for the SOA and all CAS exams again this fall.  Upcoming exams and dates are as follows.

• P/1 September 15
• FM/2 October 11
• C/4 October 21
• CAS8 Oct 25
• CAS6 October 26

The following two exams will be administered at the Cooperators at 1920 College Avenue.

• CAS3L October 27
• MFE/3F November 10

New ActSci Course Offering this Winter

We'll be offering a new ActSci Course in the Winter 2011 term, which I will be teaching.  It will be listed as either ACSC390.xx or ACSC316, and will cover the derivative pricing material covered under exam MFE.    Pre-requsites will be ACSC216 and STAT251, but students should be co-registered in ACSC318.  This will plug a gap in our course offerings, which we have the manpower to fill thanks to Taehan's arrival on staff.  I'll post more info on the course as the date approaches.

Early SOA Calculator

I unearthed this ancient artifact during recent archaeological excavations of my university office.  yes it looks like it came out of a Corn Flakes box, but this was the official SOA calculator (it carries the SOA seal on its backside) and was only calculator allowed on SOA exams for a long time.  Yes we wrote the equivalents of FM, MLC and C using a five function, one memory calculator.

Accreditation Updates

The accreditation process is continuing with site visits by review panels to university campuses over the summer and into September.  I was at Calgary on July 15-16th as part f the U of C review panel, and  a panel was at Western Ontario in late June.  U of R gets a visit in late August.

University Accreditation

The CIA is moving forward with University Accreditation.  The process is handled by a CIA Accreditation Committee which includes myself and local actuary John Dark.


The U of R has applied to become accredited.  Our application was sent off to the CIA on June 30th and we have an on-site review scheduled for August 26-27th.  


The plan is that starting with the Fall 2012 term, students who meet the standards on required ACSC courses can receive a CIA exemption for exams FM, MLC, MFE and C.


Keep checking back for updated information on progress with accreditation at the both the CIA and U of R.  I took part in an information session at the CIA annual meeting on June 29th in Ottawa (slides are shown here)

Proud of Our Grads

Hats off to a number of U of R graduates who have attained actuarial milestones this year.   I saw Meagan Orr and Thomas Webb receive their FCIAs in Ottawa at the annual meeting in June.  Also let's hear it for Nicole Krupski who go her ASA in 2011 and Will Du who became a CERA in 2011 (having become an FSA in 2010).


Just so they don't feel left out, I'll note that other U of R grads with letters include Simon Mellor FCAS, FCIA (2009), Robert Osicki ACAS (2010), Johanen Schmuecker ASA (2009) and Paul Gobeil ASA (2009).

Welcoming New Faces and Returning Old Faces

There are some changes in the instructors teaching ACSC courses for the 2011-2 academic year.  


Welcome to Taehan Bae who joins Larry Miller and I to the ACSC faculty members.  Taehan has his PhD from Western Ontario and will be teaching ACSC417 this fall. 


Welcome back to Andrei Volodin who returns to the Stats team after two years in Australia.