Learning Change Programme News

News and updates on the IFoA Learning Change Programme

Pre-Associate Curriculum

Pre-Associate Curriculum survey results update

27 July 2021

We would like to say thank you to everyone who participated in the recent Pre-Associate Curriculum Survey, which has now closed. We received 1867 responses in total. There was representation from across the world; with 31% of respondents from India, 27% from the UK, 20% from China mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, and Singapore, and the remaining 22% from countries including; Australia, South Africa, Africa, America.

Looking at the respondents, 60% were Students, 23% IFoA Fellows, 7% Employer of Actuaries, 6% IFoA Associates, 2% worked in Actuarial Education (University Partner, etc.) and the remaining 2% were related to the IFoA as “Other”. 56% of respondents identified as male, 41% as female, and 4% as "Other". 

We thank you again for taking the time to be part of this significant project to reflect on the pre-Associate Curriculum and look forward to reviewing and considering all your feedback.

Our research partner, Membership Matters are now completing a series of one-to-one interviews and workshops to discuss themes emerging from the survey in more detail. Once complete, the IFoA will consider the recommendations and submit them for review and discussion to the newly formed Advisory Panel.

Advisory Panel confirmed

27 July 2021

We are pleased to announce we have now confirmed the Associate Qualification Advisory Panel. Thank you to everyone who showed interest in sitting on this Panel. There are eight members of the panel and their primary objective is to review and reflect on the recommendations arising from the survey, consultations, and workshops.

IFoA launch pre-Associate Curriculum Review survey

07 June 2021

We have launched a major research project to identify the future needs of the pre-Associate curriculum.

Building on the work begun with Curriculum 19, we are asking our key stakeholders to feedback on a broad range of topics on our current pre-Associate curriculum and areas of potential change in the future.    

Your feedback will help us understand what’s important to those working across the actuarial landscape, so we can modernise, deepen and broaden actuarial learning and skills, enabling the profession to adapt in a rapidly changing global environment, keep pace in both established sectors and emerging domains of actuarial employment.

Members can take part in the short online survey using the link in our 14 June 2021 IFoA Update, on our website and social media.

Pre-Associate curriculum research and Advisory Panel launch

13 May 2021

We will be undertaking consultative research over the coming weeks, building on the work of Curriculum 19, to identify future needs of the pre-Associate curriculum.

The purpose of this research is to:

• Reflect on feedback and learning from Curriculum 19 and ensure the curriculum reflects the needs of the global actuarial profession.
• Identify a broad contemporary knowledge base and skills, so IFoA members can pursue career opportunities in a wider range of emerging actuarial opportunities and roles.
• Identify and evidence the competencies and capabilities of actuaries through the development of the competency framework.
• Embed a process of continuous improvement to ensure the qualifications remain relevant.

We have engaged Membership Matters, a specialist membership consultancy to manage this research. Membership Matters have worked with clients including, RIBA, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and The National Trust to deliver strategic support in all areas of membership.

We are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, ranging from individual members and employers in established and new employment areas, to recruiters, and accredited university partners.

This will begin with an online survey, followed by a series of workshops and interviews. We look forward to receiving feedback on a broad range of topics on our current pre-Associate curriculum and areas of potential change in the future.     

We are currently recruiting an Associate Qualification Advisory Panel, to reflect on the research findings and provide recommendations on the pre-Associate curriculum and shape of the competency framework.

If you are interested in joining this panel, you can see more information on our Volunteer vacancies web page.

We expect the research, review, and recommendations to be completed over the summer. We will provide further updates here as they emerge.

Pre-Fellowship Subjects

Banking Pre-Fellowship Pathway Update

14 September 2021

As part of our commitment to helping you rise to the challenges of our new world, we are working with the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) and our banking Community to support a new IFoA Fellowship pathway in Banking.

From 2022, if you successfully complete the new ASSA online Banking modules, you will be exempt from our equivalent level examinations.

To support you on your qualification journey, ASSA is working to make full tuition materials and information on how to register for the May 2022 examinations available from early November. You can find the ASSA syllabi on our Banking Lifelong Learning web page.

Banking specialism update 

01 July 2021

Discussions with ASSA are progressing well, and they are planning to have core reading and sample examinations papers ready for the Banking specialism by the end of October 2021, ready for the first set of exams in May 2022. A further update will be provided at the end of July.

Syllabus for SA and SP Banking specialism equivalent published

29 April 2021

In the January/February 2021 edition of The Actuary, we announced the development of a Banking specialism working with the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA). Co-operation continues at pace, supported by the IFoA Banking Member Interest Group (MIG). Both the IFoA and ASSA have now reached an agreement with our respective Boards and Committees on the syllabus for the equivalent of an SP and an SA Banking specialism. We anticipate being able to offer the equivalent of SP and SA specialisms, delivered by ASSA, in 2022. Work continues on the development of the Banking learning materials, which we will provide a further update on at the end of May 2021.

You can view the SP and SA Banking syllabus on our Banking Lifelong Learning web page.

Modern and digital methods of assessment

New exam system

16 May 2023

We have taken the decision to delay the introduction of the new exam system while we continue to thoroughly test that it is ready to support our exams and our candidates.

Early testing has been completed and improvements identified. For this reason, we are delaying the launch to April 2024 to ensure these improvements can be implemented and tested before we go live.

We will continue to develop the system until we are confident of delivering a high standard online exam experience, that maintains our exams’ integrity. 

Arrangements for September 2023 exams

This means that we will deliver all IFoA exams on our current platform in their traditional format in September 2023. This includes the delivery of our CB1 and CB2 exams in their current format rather than in Objective Based assessment (OBA) format.

Our September 2023 exam dates remain the same. However, we no longer need to hold contingency dates for any exams.

Online Examination Delivery Solution selected

08 March 2022

Following an extensive tendering process, we are delighted to announce that we have selected a new online examination delivery solution. The solution will deliver a more robust and technologically advanced assessment service and support the introduction of Objective-Based Assessments (OBAs). These exciting advances will introduce remote invigilation technology to further enhance the security of our open book online examinations, provide an easier way to input mathematical formulae, and offer more convenient examination times for candidates across the world. 

Over the coming months, we will work closely with our delivery partner on our implementation plans, with the aim of introducing a small number of examinations on the new delivery solution in September 2023.

Your feedback and participation will play an essential role in the successful implementation of this new solution. We will be inviting you to get involved with trials of this system at the earliest possible opportunity. 

Introduction of Objective-Based Assessments (OBAs)

08 March 2022

A further measure to bring a modern, best practice approach to our assessments is the introduction of OBAs to relevant modules. We have been working closely with leading assessment consultants, as well as subject matter specialists, to develop our first OBAs.

We will be introducing OBAs to the core finance and economic subjects (CB1 and CB2) within our pre-Associate qualification in 2023. Following the introduction of OBA for CB1 and CB2, we then plan to introduce OBA in stages for other subjects that lend themselves most naturally to this form of assessment.

The syllabi for our CB1 and CB2 OBAs will be the same as those currently in place so no individual will be asked to study new material. The only change to our 2023 CB1 and CB2 examinations will be the format of the assessment. We aim to provide examples of the new question types by end of July 2022 and publish a specimen examination paper at least 6 months prior to the introduction of the new format assessments.

As we complete the first stage of development for these OBAs, we will be inviting candidates to participate in our quality assurance process to test the validity, quality, and standard of the new format assessments.

You can read more about our plans for the introduction of OBAs in our March 2022 Actuary article. 

Are you studying for, or thinking of sitting, IFoA exams?

To make things easier for you, we will be publishing a new web page soon, where you can find all our assessment news and updates. We will also send regular updates direct to you by email and in our Student and Associate email newsletters.

Lifelong Learning 

IFRS 17 course announced

22 September 2021

To better support you as we move closer to the implementation of IFRS 17, we have negotiated a 10% discount for BPP’s IFRS 17 half-day training course. The course is designed for anyone who wants to understand the scope and basic principles of IFRS 17, focussing particularly on the General Measurement Model and including practical illustrations of the workings of the standard.

You can access information about the course, how to register and activate your discount by logging in to the My Account area of the IFoA website, then visiting the course web page.

Climate Risk and Sustainability course announcement

01 July 2021

As announced by our new President Louise Pryor at her presidential address, a Climate Risk and Sustainability course is scheduled to launch in early 2022. We are currently running a pilot programme for the first 5 modules, supported by a group of volunteers. The pilot programme began on 07 June and is scheduled to finish in mid-July.  Feedback from those attending the pilot programme, will be used to shape the content and structure and inform the development of the final modules. 

If you have questions, suggestions, or require additional information, please contact LCP@actuaries.org.uk. We will use these questions to create a regularly updated set of Frequently Asked Questions where all members can benefit from your thoughts, suggestions, and questions.  They will be shared on our Programme FAQ page.

If you have questions, suggestions, or require additional information, please contact LCP@actuaries.org.uk. We will use these questions to create a regularly updated set of Frequently Asked Questions where all members can benefit from your thoughts, suggestions, and questions.  They will be shared on our Programme FAQ page.