Committee Considering Feedback to White Paper on Academic Relations

by Dale Porfilio

The White Paper "A Partnership between the Academic Community and the Actuarial Profession" was developed by the Joint CAS, CIA, SOA Task Force on Academic Relations and released for comment during the spring. The White Paper was distributed to all members of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), Society of Actuaries (SOA), Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), and the Actuarial Faculty Forum (AFF). Nearly 150 responses were received. A summary of the responses is available on the CAS Web Site at www.casact.org/academ/wpfeedbk.pdf.

All of the current programs between the academic community and the actuarial profession, such as the CAS Academic Correspondent and University Liaison Programs, received strong support. The Academic Correspondent program allows academics to receive publications, submit papers, and attend meetings with registration fees waived or reduced, and makes grants for an academic who attains the Fellow or Associate designations. The University Liaison program provides the materials needed to make a presentation about the career to students. The program that received the strongest support was to continue the list of colleges and universities offering an actuarial science program.

Of the proposed new programs in the White Paper, the creation of a clearinghouse that would link faculty and business actuaries to work on practical actuarial projects received the most support, with nearly 85 percent of respondents approving. Another new program designed to involve individual members directly with academic institutions received support from over 80 percent of the respondents. However, a proposed program that would give credit for all jointly sponsored CAS and SOA examinations, by means of taking a comprehensive exam, received favorable support from only 49 percent of responses.

The Joint CAS, CIA, SOA Committee on Academic Relations is reviewing the responses. This committee will develop recommendations for implementing some or all of the proposed new programs.