Checking your grades

Assessment criteria for all assessment tasks will be posted on the unit's iLearn site. 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.”

Special Consideration

Macquarie  University recognises that students may experience events or conditions that adversely affect their academic performance. If you experience serious and unavoidable difficulties at exam time or when assessment tasks are due, you can consider applying for Special Consideration. The University Policy for Special Consideration is given at https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration. Where a Special Consideration application is approved, the student may be offered an alternative assessment or may receive a mark based on the percentage mark achieved by the student in one or more other assessment tasks, at the Unit Convenor’s discretion.

Extension of time for assignments

 Tasks 10% or less – 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.

 Tasks above 10% - No extensions will be granted. 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 considereation is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.

Information about the final examination

The exam will be three hours plus ten minutes reading time. The exam will be held during the University Examination period for semester 1. The examination timetable will be posted on the University website later in the term.

Students will be allowed to use a non-programmable calculator during the examination (The calculator must NOT have text retrieval capability). No other aids are permitted during the final examination for this unit.

The Macquarie University examination policy describes the principles and conduct of examinations at the University. This policy is available at http://www.mq.edu.au/docs/examination/policy.htm

Supplementary exams

If you miss the final examination (e.g. due to illness or other special circumstances), you can apply for special consideration. You MIGHT be given the opportunity to do a supplementary exam, at a later date. You should NOT assume that you will be given a supplementary exam, unless you meet the conditions specified in the Faculty policy. Please read the Faculty policy on this topic.  Information regarding supplementary exams, including dates, is available at: http://www.businessandeconomics.mq.edu.au/current_students/undergraduate/how_do_i/disruption_to_studies

Information about Classes and Course Material

The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/2020. This timetable shows the class times and locations.

• Lectures : 2 hours per week

Please bring a calculator so that you can attempt some exercises during class. Be prepared to share your ideas.

* Tutorials : 1 hour per week

You should enrol in one of the tutorial groups shown on the timetable. NOTE: There are NO TUTORIALS IN WEEK 1. In tutorials, we will work through some examples of actuarial problems.Tutorial questions will be posted on iLearn each week. Please attempt the tute questions BEFORE the class, so that you can ask your tutor if you need help. Note that the tutorial exercises provide excellent preparation for the class test and final exam.

Students may request a change of tutorial time if there is a good reason for the change (e.g. you have a part time job which clashes with your assigned tutorial).

* Consultation hours

Sometimes, you may want extra help in understanding the course material. If so, you can attend our tutor's consultation hours. The tutor's consultation hours will be posted in the Announcements on iLearn. If the tutor cannot solve your problem (which is unlikely, our tutors are very capable), then you can send a message to the lecturer, Shauna Ferris, to make an appointment. 

* Announcements

Note that rooms and times for tutorials may change depending on the number of students enrolling in both ACST1052 and in other units across the University - any changes will be announced in Lectures and on iLearn. Make sure that you regularly check the Announcements on iLearn.

* Computer skills.

In this unit students learn how to use EXCEL to build simple financial models and do simulations. We have provided some Camtasia recordings to demonstrate how to build spreadsheets and use common EXCEL functions. These Camtasia recordings are available on iLearn. This material is examinable so students should watch these recordings. The best way to develop computing skills is to attempt sample problems, so please work through the examples in the Camtasia recordings. Some students already have EXCEL skills, but others have not had this opportunity. Therefore our tutor will be available to provide help with Excel, during his/her weekly consultation hours.

* Course Materials

Lecture material (Powerpoint slides) and course notes will be provided via iLearn. You will not need any other textbooks. The library does have some actuarial textbooks which may be useful as a source of additional practice problems (references will be posted on iLearn).

Each week (after week 1) tutorial problems and solutions will be posted on iLearn.

In most weeks, you will be asked to do an online quiz. The solutions to these quizzes will be posted on iLearn.

Copies of old class tests and exams, with worked solutions, are available on iLearn.

Camtasia recordings of Excel tutorials will be available on iLeaarn.

Lectures are usually recorded using the Echo360 system. The recordings are posted on iLearn after the lecture. On the iLearn home page, look for the Echo360 icon on the right hand side of the home page (you might need to scroll down). If you click on this icon then you will have access to the recordings. [Note: We cannot guarantee that the recordings will always be available. Sometimes there are technical hitches, or someone accidentally turns off the recording devices].

Beware - if you talk to the lecturer during the lecture, your voice may be recorded - so do not discuss personal matters when standing near the lecturn.  

   * Technology

Students will need to use computers to access iLearn. Students who do not own a computer can use the University's PC labs. 

The written report may require some research (e.g. using Google Scholar or the library's electronic databases). 

Some assignments will require the use of Excel spreadsheets. Most spreadsheet problems can be solved using either the PC version or the Mac version of Excel - however in some cases the Mac version is slightly different. So on some occasions, students who have Macs may need to use the PCs in the University's PC labs. 

Students will be encouraged to download and use R software, which is open-source (available for free online). 

* iLearn 

The course notes, readings, recordings,  tutorial questions, tutorial solutions, and sample exams for this unit will be posted on the iLearn system. There will be a separate folder for each week.

To find the iLearn page, go to ilearn.mq.edu.au and enter your user name and password. Once you log in, you should see a list of all the units you are enrolled in - and this should include ACST1052 Introduction to Actuarial Studies. Click on the unit name to go to the unit's iLearn home page.

* If you have trouble logging in to iLearn or you can't remember your password, ring 9850 HELP or send a question by email to OneHelp@mq.edu.au.

* If you have any personal questions, then you can send Shauna a message via iLearn (click on "Send a message"). For example, if you are sick and you need Special Consideration, or you want to switch tutes because you have a timetable clash, send a messsge to Shauna via iLearn."Send a Message"

* If you have any general questions about the unit, you can post a message under General Discussion (which is on iLearn). This is a public noticeboard: all the students and staff can see your message. For example, if you have a question about one of the assignments, you can post the question here.

* Students are encouraged to help each other. If you notice that one of your colleagues has posted a question on General Discussion, and you think you know the answer, you may post a reply. You are encouraged to help each other with tute questions.  

* Please be polite to each other when you post messages on iLearn.

* If you have any helpful suggestions for how to improve the course, please feel free to send Shauna a message via the Dialogue.

* Important information is often posted on the Announcements in iLearn - for example we might want to tell you about a scholarship, or an ASSOC event, or a room change for a tute. So please read the Announcements, which are sent to your University email.

Based on the student feedback, students were fairly happy with this unit in 2019, so we have not made many changes. Some students thought the EXCEL assignment was too hard, so we will try to include more EXCEL practice questions this year, so that students can be better prepared for the assignment.

This course is designed to give students an understanding of practical problems which actuaries must solve. So we will be keeping an eye on current financial events which affect the financial services industry and the actuarial profession. These issues will be discussed in tutorials.

Many students said that the online quizzes and tutorial exercises were very helpful in preparing for the test and final exam. If you have trouble understanding any of the tutorial or quiz problems, please go and see a tutor during the weekly consultation times. [The consultation hours will be posted on iLearn Announcements].