Shape future IFoA exams: share your views on test centres and closed book exams

30 May 2024

Should the IFoA return to closed book exams and offer test centre online exam sittings?

As we continue to develop a new exam delivery system, we want to take this opportunity to consult more widely to inform how to improve our services and your experience.

IFoA online exams

In response to the COVID pandemic, we started delivering all IFoA exams online in 2020. We also moved to an open book web approach, where candidates can refer to external materials like web sites and study notes.

Feedback from candidates and employers at the time was positive. Many were grateful that we did not cancel exams, which, unfortunately, was the case for many other awarding organisations.

While our exams will remain online, enabling us to offer more modern forms of assessment in future, including Objective Based Assessments (OBAs), we understand that, over time, your views on the delivery of our online exams may have changed.

We want to hear your views

Thank you to everyone who completed our April post-exam survey, which received over 3,000 responses. Feedback from this and other surveys, and our exam system testing last year, has given us valuable insight into your views on our current exam delivery methods.

We have listened to your feedback and want your views to shape future IFoA exam delivery.

We want to know your thoughts on closed book exams, where candidates are unable to refer to external materials during an exam, and whether you would like the option to sit online exams in an exam test centre.

Share your views

To share your views on closed book exams and exam test centre preferences, please complete this short survey by 14 June.

Please do share the above consultation link with your peers and encourage as many as possible to get involved.

Your feedback drives change

Some of our exam candidates have feedback that they find typing mathematical formula and equations onscreen more difficult than handwriting them. Therefore, we are considering if there are ways that we can improve this while exams are still delivered on our current exam platform. We will let you know about progress in this area as soon as we are able to.

We would like to thank you for your support as we make improvements to your exam experience.

 

Take the survey