A joint task force to explore a closer partnership between the academic and actuarial communities began its work in July 1998 with representatives from the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and the Society of Actuaries (SOA). The Task Force on Academic Relations' efforts have produced the following accomplishments.
Preliminary Report
"The Actuarial Profession and the Academic Community: The Case for a Partnership" was
issued in December 1998. This report outlined the need for such a partnership, set some preliminary objectives and raised questions to be considered. The governing bodies of the three organizations reviewed the report and provided feedback for the task force to consider:
Updated objectives
The task force now identifies eight primary objectives for the partnership, including:
- To produce a sufficient number of highly qualified students and employees;
- To produce a sufficient amount of theoretically sound and practical research;
- To optimize the use of the combined resources of the academic community and the actuarial profession;
- To maintain a flexible and dynamic basic and continuing education system.
Communication Plan
In March, the three governing bodies encouraged implementation of a communication plan that included these key goals:
- To publish articles on the task force and outline trends in the actuarial profession;
- To make presentations and gain feedback at 1999 meetings of academia and the actuarial profession, such as the Actuarial Research Council (ARC) in August in Des Moines, Iowa, and the CAS Annual Meeting in San Francisco in November;
- To create an e-mail list to provide two-way communication between interested parties. To join the "Academic Relations" e-mail list, go to www.casact.org/academ/acadlist.htm.
- To create a white paper that will be released for member comment early in 2000 outlining ways to implement the "Vision of Academic Partnership 2005."
Reorganized Listing of Schools
The task force set as one of its first priorities to recommend a new structure to reorganize and expand the listing of colleges and universities into more meaningful categories. A discussion document was well received by leadership at March meetings at which the task force suggested a structure and criteria to create four categories:
- Introductory Undergraduate
- Advanced Undergraduate
- Graduate - Education
- Graduate - Education and Research
The expanded listing should be available for the year 2000.
Vision of Academic Partnership 2005
The task force has developed a vision document of the academic partnership in 2005. Driving the task force's work is the strong conviction that a partnership between the actuarial profession and the academic community is essential to the continued success of the profession. The strong, vibrant university system can contribute to the education and research vital to helping actuaries practice in the emerging global business world.
