Monograph Submission Guidelines

Guidelines for Monograph Submissions

(As Updated February 28, 2017)

A CAS Monograph is a comprehensive, peer-reviewed work on a single aspect of property casualty actuarial science that is primarily educational in nature. It may be a compendium or original research or both. A monograph should be 10,000 words or more in length.

Who May Submit

Papers are welcomed from anyone regardless of their profession, education, or geographic location. Submissions will be evaluated based upon the merits of the paper and not authorship.

Publication Schedule

Monographs have no set publication schedule. The Monograph Committee will publish approved monographs upon their completion.

Procedures for Submission

Authors must submit their papers via the CAS Publications submission portal on the ScholarOne website. Through the ScholarOne Author Dashboard, authors are guided through the following seven-step process:

  • Step 1: Type, Title, & Abstract
  • Step 2: Attributes
  • Step 3: Authors & Institutions
  • Step 4: Reviewers
  • Step 5: Details & Comments
  • Step 6: File Upload
  • Step 7: Review & Submit

Authors must submit their paper in electronic format, preferably as a Microsoft Word document

Your submission will be recorded as received, acknowledged, and sent to the Editor in Chief of the Monograph Committee for review.

Through the ScholarOne Author Dashboard, authors will be able to review their submissions, track submission progress and recommend possible reviewers.

The Monograph Editorial Board wishes to maintain anonymity of the author during the review process. Submissions should not contain any information that might reveal authors’ names or affiliations.
Authors should be prepared to respond to the following queries:

  • Does the paper contain any material that is copyrighted? This may include factual data, charts, graphs, etc. If so, has the author obtained a copyright waiver or permission statement from the publisher or copyright holder? The CAS is unable to publish copyrighted material without a waiver from the copyright holder. This waiver should be attached to the submitted paper.
  • Does the paper contain any material that is proprietary? This may include factual data, charts, graphs, etc. If so, has the author obtained permission from the relevant party to release the proprietary information? This permission statement should be uploaded in Step 6 on the ScholarOne website for CAS Publications.
  • Is the author prepared to execute a copyright assignment agreement with the CAS (see copyright form in the “Instructions and Forms” pull-down menu in the upper right of the ScholarOne website for CAS Publications and appended to the Guides for the Submission of Papers)? If so, this should be stated affirmatively. A paper will not be accepted without a copyright agreement uploaded in Step 6. The CAS Publications Production Coordinator will acknowledge the receipt of the paper.

Initial Screening of Papers

Upon receipt of the paper, the CAS Publications Production Coordinator will determine whether the paper complies with the Procedures for Submission of Papers. If it does not, the paper will be returned to the author with comments as to the deficiencies. If the paper does comply, the paper will be forwarded on to the Monograph Committee for initial review. If the paper is found to be suitable for publication, the paper will be assigned to peer reviewers and the author will be informed of this decision.

Procedures for Reviewing Papers

The members of the Monograph Committee determine the acceptability of the paper by evaluating the recommendations of the designated reviewers. The Committee’s decision will place the paper in one of the following categories:

  • Accept. The Committee will accept the paper unconditionally.
  • Accept with suggestions for improvement. The Committee will suggest to the author ways in which the paper may be improved and will ask for affirmative action by the author either to revise the paper or to confirm the original submission.
  • Accept conditionally. The Committee will require conditions that must be met by the author in order to make the paper acceptable.
  • Request resubmission. The Committee will not accept the paper but will provide the author with general suggestions on how to reconstruct the paper to make it acceptable, and invite resubmission.
  • Reject. The Committee will reject the paper and notify the author of its decision and the reasons for rejection.

The following general principles will be observed by the Committee in evaluating papers. Neither disagreement by the Committee members with opinions of the author nor unorthodoxy in the views expressed by the author will be a bar to acceptance of an otherwise suitable paper. The Committee welcomes candor and genuine debate subject to the usual expectations of clarity, pertinence, and courtesy. The paper should recognize other viewpoints and explore its subject in sufficient depth to contribute to general enlightenment. Where the paper is found to be fallacious in logic or misleading in matters of fact, the Committee will reject it.

Guidelines for Resubmitting

When an author decides to resubmit a paper in connection with guidelines, all the rules and procedures for original submission will apply. The revised paper should be accompanied by a cover letter titled “RESUBMISSION” and uploaded on the ScholarOne website for CAS Publications. To expedite the resubmission review, authors are required to indicate in the resubmission cover letter how they have responded to the comments contained in the individual reviews. If an author does not agree with a recommended change, the author will provide a detailed explanation of the disagreement in the letter.

Copies Provided to Author

Ten copies of the printed monograph will be provided to the author after the monograph is printed.

Publishing Conventions

  • All monographs will be published electronically.
  • CAS will issue a small number of print copies, ten copies for archival purposes and ten copies to give to the author.
  • The electronic file and the print version will be identical in appearance.
  • Monographs will be placed on the shopping list for CAS publications, where they can be ordered for an individual’s use as a small cost.
  • CAS will print additional copies for sale should there be a demand.

Copyright

CAS Copyright Assignment Agreement form and upload it on the ScholarOne website for CAS Publications. This copyright agreement assigns the CAS exclusive right, title, and interest to the paper, including the right of the CAS to edit the paper and publish the author’s name in connection with the publication of the monograph. The CAS will grant back to the author certain rights under a limited license.
The Monograph Committee will provide a Copyright Assignment Agreement form when notifying the author of the results of the committee’s initial screening of a paper that falls into categories 1-3.Authors will be asked to sign and return the Copyright Assignment Agreement form prior to official acceptance of the paper by the Committee. Further consideration of the paper will be contingent upon the return of the signed Copyright Assignment Agreement form.

To protect the Casualty Actuarial Society’s copyright, the following statement will be placed at the bottom of the first page of a monograph after it has been accepted and before its reproduction:

“Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the Casualty Actuarial Society is specifically prohibited, except that permission is granted to make copies for classroom or other educational use, but in no event for general distribution, advertising or promotional purposes, inclusion in new collective works, or for any commercial purposes.”