Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor and lecturer
Simon Guthrie
Contact via iLearn discussion forum or during consultation hours in teaching weeks
4EaR 616
Wednesday 2-4pm during teaching weeks
Lecturer
Bruce Edwards
Contact via iLearn discussion forum or in classes
Teaching Assistant
Hong Xie
Contact via iLearn Dialogue (admin enquiries)
|
---|---|
Credit points |
Credit points
4
|
Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Permission by special approval
|
Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
Unit description |
Unit description
This unit, in conjunction with ACST832, develops and applies the actuarial principles and practices underlying the design, assessment, management and control of financial systems in life and general insurance, superannuation, and other areas of actuarial practice. The two units consider the process of actuarial and financial management including: product design, pricing, marketing, monitoring of experience, reserving, financing, solvency, surplus, and enterprise risk management. The commercial environment and professionalism are discussed. Students gaining a credit or higher in this unit will satisfy part of the requirements for exemption from Part IIA of the professional exams of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.
|
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
It is the responsibility of students to view their marks for each within session assessment on iLearn within 20 working days of posting. If there are any discrepancies, students must contact the unit convenor immediately. Failure to do so will mean that queries received after the release of final results regarding assessment marks (not including the final exam mark) will not be addressed.
Assessment criteria for all assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Assessed coursework | 7% | No | Tuesdays 9 am |
Case study / report | 12% | No | 3 May 9 am |
Assignment | 11% | No | 9 April |
Final examination | 70% | No | Exam period |
Postgraduate student task | 0% | Yes | 14 April |
Due: Tuesdays 9 am
Weighting: 7%
Description
A range of tasks based on the chapters of the textbook, and due 9 am. (Sydney time) most Tuesday mornings (see the Unit Schedule). The first chapter task will be due on Tuesday 5 March (Week 2). Only three of the eight textbook chapter tasks will be marked and graded (and we don't specify which ones in advance). Further information about this assessment task will be provided via iLearn.
Submission
Textbook chapter tasks are submitted via iLearn, and marks and feedback will be returned via iLearn.
Extensions / penalties
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved.
Description
Students should contribute to the iLearn Discussion Forums by posting answers to discussion questions. Students must make at least 3 postings during the term. Students will earn 1 mark for each posting which satisfactorily engages with the topic. Further information about this assessment task will be provided via iLearn.
Submission
Discussion contributions are submitted via the iLearn Discussion Forums, and marks and feedback will be returned via iLearn.
Extensions / penalties
No extensions will be granted. Students who have not submitted the task prior to the deadline will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved.
Due: 3 May 9 am
Weighting: 12%
Description
An individual, written, case-study report. Further information about this assessment task will be provided via iLearn.
Submission
Submission is via iLearn, and marks and feedback will be returned via iLearn.
Extension
No extensions will be granted.
Penalties
There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission: 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
Due: 9 April
Weighting: 11%
Description
The assignment is a written report. Further information about this assessment task will be provided via iLearn.
Submission
Submission is via iLearn, and marks and feedback will be returned via iLearn.
Extension
No extensions will be granted.
Penalties
There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission: 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
Due: Exam period
Weighting: 70%
Description
The final examination is a three-hour (plus reading time) written examination.
Exam requirements
Non-programmable calculators with no text storage / retrieval capacity permitted. Dictionaries are not permitted.
You are permitted ONE A4 page of paper containing reference material printed on both sides. The material may be handwritten or typed. The page will not be returned to you at the end of the final examination.
You should ensure that your handwriting is legible. Sections of work that are not legible will not be marked.
Extension
No extensions will be granted. The only exception to sitting the examination at the designated time is due to documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may apply for Special Consideration - details are given in the Policies and Procedures section of this outline. If a supplementary examination is granted as a result of this process, the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period, and you must be available to sit the examination at the designated time.
Due: 14 April
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
Description
Postgraduate (ACST831 and ACST831 External) students are required to complete a postgraduate student task. Details will be advised on iLearn. The task is due Sunday 14 April. The task does not contribute any weight to the assessment, but a satisfactory attempt is required in order to pass the unit. The task is graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory).
Submission
The postgraduate students task will be submitted via iLearn, and results and feedback will be returned via iLearn.
Extensions/penalties
No extensions will be granted. Students who do not submit the task will fail the task, except for cases in which an application for Special Consideration is made and approved. You are required to pass this task in order to pass the unit.
ACST831 is offered via classes on campus (Macquarie University) and in the Sydney CBD and via distance education throughout the world. Students share lecture classes and a common teaching website (iLearn) with the units ACST402 and ACST731. This unit guide is for ACST831 External distance students; city and campus ACST831 students should refer to the ACST831 unit guide.
We believe that the best way we can help you to master the Actuarial Control Cycle subject is not by giving traditional lectures where your role is basically to listen, think and take notes. We have planned the face-to-face classes to be like workshops: a mixture of short "micro-presentations", small group work, discussions involving the whole class, and individual activities. Most weeks, we will ask you to do some preparatory work - reading, research, writing or just thinking. If you want to get the most out of the classes, do the preparation, and get involved in the classroom work.
In all weeks, standard recordings of campus lectures using the University's lecture recording facility (ECHO360) will be available. The recordings capture audio and screenshot. Since the classes in this unit are not traditional lectures but contain periods of group discussion, the recordings will contain some stretches of background noise which you will need to fast forward through. To access the recordings for all weeks, click on the ECHO360 link on the right hand side of the webpage, then select the relevant lecture recording date, then click Play.
Timetable
The timetable for classes can be found on the Macquarie University website at:
http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au
Sydney CBD classes will be held at the Macquarie City Campus, 123 Pitt St (Angel Place), on Tuesdays 6-9pm.
Alterations to the class times or locations will be advised in class and on the teaching website.
Simon Guthrie is the unit convenor and will be taking four weeks of classes including supervising presentations. Simon can be contacted via Dialogue on the website, or during his consultation hours.
Bruce Edwards will be conducting other classes and supervision of presentations. Bruce is an industry practitioner with a wide range of knowledge across many areas in which actuaries practice. Outside of classes, the forum for interaction with Bruce will be the website Discussion forums.
Hong Xie is the teaching administrator, and can deal with any administrative queries related to the unit. Hong can be contacted via Dialogue on the website.
We assume from the start of the Actuarial Control Cycle that you have acquired the knowledge and skills in subjects CT1 to CT8 of Part I of the Actuaries Institute education program.
The AMP Prize for Actuarial Control Cycle 1 is awarded for this unit.
There is one textbook for this unit, referred to here and elsewhere as UAM:
Bellis, C., Lyon, R., Klugman, S and Shepherd, J. (2010). Understanding Actuarial Management: The Actuarial Control Cycle, 2nd edition, Institute of Actuaries of Australia.
The textbook can be purchased from the Actuaries Institute, at:
http://www.actuaries.asn.au/knowledge-bank/book-shop?id=8
You should buy the book immediately, if you haven't already, as assessment tasks based on the book are due at the beginning of the second week of classes.
Copies of the book are available in the Reserve section of the Macquarie University library.
Other useful articles will be set out at the beginning of each Learning Guide, and made available on the teaching website.
There is a Learning Guide for each section of work. You should read the Learning Guide in advance of the lectures, and bring a copy with you to classes.
In this unit, you will need to have access to and to be able to use software to produce overhead slides, .pdf documents, and word-processing software to produce reports.
Course material is available on the online learning management system (iLearn).
The teaching website is integral to this course unit. Passive involvement in this unit greatly reduces the likelihood of achieving the exemption standard of understanding. Interaction with other students and with teachers is very important, and the website is the forum for that interaction.
You will need to be accessing the website regularly to see announcements, read postings and stay informed - at least every couple of days. This is your responsibility and we cannot make any allowances for students who miss important information due to not checking the website regularly.
The website entry page is at:
http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
The unit is taught as set out in the Classes section. The Unit Schedule sets out the assessment and the topics covered in each week of the semester.
The Macquarie University units ACST402/731/831/831 External (Control Cycle 1), ACST403/732/832/832 External (Control Cycle 2) and ACST404/771/871/871 External together count for exemption from the Actuaries Institute Part II subject. You will be recommended for exemption from Part II if you attain grades of Credit or better in these three units. If you attain a Pass in one or more of these units, then the exemption will be recommended if and only if a Standardised Numerical Grade (SNG) of at least 60 is achieved in all three units, and the average SNG is at least 65. For students who have completed part of Part II at a different university, each case is considered individually based on the exemption requirements at those universities.
It is the responsibility of the student to apply to Macquarie University to recommend them to the Actuaries Institute for professional exemptions. For information about this process and links to relevant forms, see:
Week | Week beginning | Topic | Lecturer | UAM Chapter | Assessment task | Notes |
1 | 25-Feb | Meeting Consumers' Needs | SG | 4 | - | |
2 | 4-Mar | Context of Actuarial Work | BE | 5, 14 (part) | TCT1 | |
3 | 11-Mar | Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) | BE | 2 | TCT2, Discussion contribution 1 | |
4 | 18-Mar | Applying Risk Management | BE | 6 | TCT3 | |
5 | 25-Mar | Product Development | SG | 8 | TCT4 | |
6 | 1-Apr | Regulation | BE | 7 | TCT5, Discussion contribution 2 | |
7 | 8-Apr | Presentations | - | - | Assignment, Post-grad student task | |
Study break | 15-Apr | - | - | - | - | |
Study break | 22-Apr | - | - | - | - | |
8 | 29-Apr | Modelling | BE | 9,10 | TCT6, Case study | |
9 | 6-May | Capital | SG | 11 | TCT7, Discussion contribution 3 | |
10 | 13-May | Capital (cont) | BE | 11 | - | |
11 | 20-May | Pricing | SG | 13 | TCT8 | |
12 | 27-May | Pricing (cont) | BE | 13 | - | |
13 | 3-Jun | Revision | BE | - | - |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Further information regarding supplementary exams, including dates, is available here http://www.businessandeconomics.mq.edu.au/current_students/undergraduate/how_do_i/disruption_to_studies
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.
This graduate capability is supported by:
The learning objectives, class format, overall assessment structure and text are all the same as in the last offering. The Learning Guides, readings, lecture slides and lecture recordings are updated each year. The individual assessments are new each year. There has also been a change in the order in which topics are covered since the last offering.
This unit uses research in several ways.