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NOTICE OF EXAMINATIONS
May 2009

Casualty Actuarial Society
4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 250, Arlington, VA 22203
E-Mail: office@casact.org; Telephone: 703.276.3100; Fax: 703.276.3108

Updated: 8 May 2009

Purpose of Notice

  • Indicate changes to the Syllabus of Basic Education.
  • Remind candidates of examination policies.
  • Provide information on study manuals and examination review courses.

Registration

Deadlines
  • March 25, 2009—Exams 2/FM, 3F/MFE, and 4/C
    The registration deadline for applications for preliminary Exams 2/FM, 3F/MFE, and 4/C to reach Preliminary Actuarial Examinations is March 25, 2009.
  • April 2, 2009—Exam 1/P, 3L, 5, 7, and 8
    • The registration deadline for applications for Exam 1/P to reach Preliminary Actuarial Examinations is April 2, 2009.

    The registration deadline for applications for CAS Exams 3L, 5, 7, and 8 to reach the CAS Office is April 2, 2009.

Late registrations will NOT be accepted. No exceptions will be made. Candidates are encouraged to submit their applications early. If candidates rely solely on their accounting departments to ensure timely registration, there may be problems. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that the application is received by the stated deadline.
Registration

Information needed to register for CAS Examinations is contained in the 2009 CAS Syllabus of Basic Education.

Acknowledgment

If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your examination registration by March 20, 2009, please contact the CAS Office to ensure that the application was received at the CAS Office.

Refund Deadlines
Refunds
  • Exams 3F/MFE and 4/C

    The refund deadline for Exams 3F/MFE and 4/C is April 30, 2009.

  • Exam 2/FM

    For Exam 2/FM, a candidate must both cancel the appointment by noon of the second business day before the appointment at the test center and submit a refund request to arrive by May 4, 2009.

  • Exam 1/P

    For Exam 1/P, a candidate must both cancel the appointment by noon of the second business day before the appointment at the test center and submit a refund request to arrive by May 11, 2009.

  • Exams 3L, 5, 7, and 8

    The refund deadline for Exams 3L, 5, 7, and 8 is May 7, 2009.

Changes in the CAS Exams
Exam 5 All candidates sitting for Exam 5 will be asked to make a manual correction to one question on the exam immediately before the 15-minute reading period. This is a result of a typographical error that was introduced to Exam 5 late in the drafting process.

There will be no effect on the reading period or the exam testing time, but the overall time of the exam administration will be lengthened by a couple of minutes.

All proctors have been informed of the change. The proctor script has been revised to walk candidates through the change. Please listen carefully to the instructions and inform the proctor if anything about the change is unclear. In the unlikely event you are told to begin the reading period before being asked to make the change, please inquire with your proctor which question needs to have the manual correction and how it should be made.

The Examination Committee apologizes for the oversight. At this late date, there was no way to recall and reprint the exams to fix this error. The Examination Committee feels that the selected action best serves the candidates by allowing the question to remain as an effective part of the exam.

Exam 5 Exam 5 will contain a copy of the ISO Personal Automobile Manual and the ISO Personal Automobile Policy.
Exam 3L Tables The set of tables that will be distributed with the Spring 2009 version of Exam 3L is linked from both the Exam 3L section of the Syllabus and from the Exam 3L Web Notes. (One of the links had pointed to a slightly older version.)
Exam 4/C In preparation for moving to computer-based testing, two forms of Exam 4/C will be given in May 2009. The two forms will have some questions in common and have been designed to be approximately equal in difficulty. Results from each form will be reviewed in a manner consistent with past exam sittings, and different pass marks may be established, if appropriate.
Exam Analysis The Examination Candidate Analysis reports that are automatically provided to candidates who fail CAS-specific Exams 5, 7, and 8 will contain the point value and the range of actual for essay questions. For multiple-choice Exam 3L, the report will contain the question point value and the points received by question. For both versions, the score relative to other candidates will no longer be included.

Update to the CAS 2009 Syllabus
Updates The most updates to the 2009 Syllabus of Basic Educationare available in the “Admissions/Exams” section of the CAS Web Site.

Examination Administration
Arrival & Departure Candidates should arrive at the examination center 30 minutes before the scheduled exam time. For Exams 3L, 5, 7, and 8, candidates may not leave the examination room until two hours after the start of the examination. Candidates may not leave during the last 15 minutes of the examination.
Reading Time For Exams 3L, 5, 7, and 8, a reading period will be given immediately prior to the start of the exam. The reading period for Exam 3L will be 10 minutes; for Exams 5, 7, and 8 it will be 15 minutes. The reading period will begin immediately after the proctor has read the proctor instructions. After candidates have read the exam instructions, the proctor will begin the reading period for candidates to silently read the questions. Candidates may wish to use this time to ensure that they do not have a defective exam and to develop a strategy for which questions they will attempt first. Writing will NOT be permitted during this time and candidates will not be permitted to hold pens or pencils or use calculators. At the end of reading time, the proctor will give the instruction for candidates to begin the exam. This will mark the beginning of the timed section of the exam.
Things to Bring
  • Photo ID: To be admitted into an examination center, each candidate must present a positive identification with a signature and a photograph (e.g., driver’s license, passport, school or work ID, etc.). If a photo ID is not available, the candidate must present two forms of identification with a signature, with at least one form containing a physical description (height, weight, hair color, eye color, etc.). Each candidate will be required to sign in at the examination center. A candidate who does not present positive identification or who refuses or is unable to provide a matching signature will not be permitted to write the examination.

  • [Exams 3F/MFE and 4/C] Letter of Admission: For Exams 3F/MFE and 4/C, candidates also must present a valid Letter of Admission that will be sent from Preliminary Actuarial Examinations.

  • No. 2 Pencils: Please bring a supply of number 2 pencils to the examination center to fill in the short answer card.

  • Authorized Calculator: Only authorized calculators will be permitted at the examination center. All unauthorized calculators brought to the exam will be confiscated for the duration of the exam (cf. page 16 of the Syllabus). Use of an unauthorized calculator may result in the disqualification of the candidate’s examination.

  • [Exams 3L, 6, and 9 only] Self-addressed, Stamped Envelope: To obtain your own examination booklet (for CAS Exams 3L, 5, 7 and 8 only) after the examination, bring a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the examination center. The proctor will give detailed instructions. (This procedure is necessary for examination security.) Postage for the booklets varies by weight; use at least $2.87 in postage within the U.S. Candidates outside the U.S. should consult their local post office about postage for a booklet weighing at least 11 ounces. Candidates who do not have a self-addressed, stamped envelope must enclose their examination booklets with the answer card/sheets in the envelope that is returned to the proctor.
    NOTE: For Exam 3L a preliminary answer key for the multiple-choice questions will be posted in the “Admissions/Exams” section of the CAS Web Site approximately one week following the completion of the examinations. For Exams 5, 7, and 8, sample solutions to essay questions will be available within the time frame announced in the Syllabus (July 31, 2009, for the Spring 2009 examinations).
Rules Rules regarding examination discipline are printed in the Syllabus of Basic Education.
Ear Plugs Simple foam earplugs are allowed and must be checked in with the Supervisor upon entrance to the exam. The ability to hear all verbal instructions, including exam start and stop times is the responsibility of the candidates, regardless of the use of earplugs.

Examination Status
Check your Status Candidates may view their education and examination status under “Verify Candidate Exam Status” in “Candidate Information” in the “Admissions/Exams” section of the CAS Web Site. The data displayed will be updated after all grades for a sitting have been released and the list of passing candidate names has been posted. Subsequently, the data on the CAS Web Site will be updated periodically (approximately once a month). Please verify that credit is properly reflected for joint CAS/SOA Exams 1/P, 2/FM, 3F/MFE, and 4/C as well as the three VEE requirements. Candidates may directly contact the CAS Office from the Web page displaying their examination status. Please include your full name, date of birth, and address with any inquiry as well as the exam session in which you passed the exam.

Supplemental Study Materials and Exam Review Courses
E-mail Study Groups E-mail study groups are available for candidates preparing for CAS examinations.
Study Aids and Seminars Information on study aids and seminars is provided as part of this Notice in the "Admissions/Exams" section of the CAS Web Site. This information is provided as a convenience to CAS candidates. The CAS takes no responsibility for the accuracy or quality of the study aids and seminar announcements attached to this notice. (Click on the links below for more information.)