Georgia State Professor Robert W. Batten's response to the FEM proposal (
http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/ ... hp?t=172628&page=2)
"In the days since the proposal was made public, I have been profoundlyimpressed by the arguments made, mostly by the younger members (andhence the true lifeblood) of our profession. Overwhelmingly, they havebeen at once outraged and appalled while, in the preponderance ofcases, also being professional and courteous. This, in itself, shouldgive all of us optimism about the caliber of the young men and womenwho will lead the Society of Actuaries into the next few decades. I seeno reason for me to parrot their arguments, virtually all of which I amin agreement with.
I have had the privilege of teaching thousands of young people over thelast 40+ years who were striving to be actuaries. I feel that my rolewas to prepare them, to the best of my ability, for success on theirprofessional exams and for their long-term contributions to theactuarial profession. Yet I never wanted to "play God" and to have anyrole in deciding whether a student would be given credit for anactuarial exam on the basis of a grade I might give in an academiccourse. That, I have always felt, is the responsibility---and theduty---of the actuarial societies through the exam process. I feel thatmy standards as a professor at Georgia State were very rigorous, and astudent who earned an A was totally deserving of that grade. But I alsofelt that my opinion of such a student's achievements in class shouldnot have served as a substitute for a rigorously administered actuarialexam.
In seminar teaching, I have encountered many students with degrees (andgood grades)from prestigious institutions with well-recognized programsof actuarial education who would have had virtually no chance at examsuccess without substantial additional study. Those students, whosubsequently paid the steep price of many hours of further study andultimately passed the exam, are surely more valuable to theirprofession than if they had been given credit because of a gradereceived in a college or university setting.
A couple of decades ago, there was a similar proposal for collegecredit on actuarial exams which went under the name of the AlternateRoute. It was strongly backed by some of the most prestigious membersof the profession and by what seemed to be a large majority ofacademics. At that time, being the director of a large and successfulacademic program, I could see possible advantages of such a proposal toGeorgia State University. Yet I vehemently opposed it for the reasonsmentioned above, incurring the displeasure of some other academics andBoard members. Fortunately, it died a slow and grudging death, becausethe rank-and-file of the membership also was strongly opposed.
The current proposal, as many have noted, was made public with verylittle response time available to the various constituencies of theprofessional societies. It also seems to be favored by many Boardmembers as well as (I assume) a large number of academics. It is myhope that this will only generate a larger number of comments and thatthe governing bodies will be responsive to what I believe will prove tobe a largely negative reaction.
In my mind, it all comes down to this. Would such a change inqualification for actuarial designations benefit anyone? Probably yes,including some faculty at large in successful academic programs andperhaps some individuals who truly believe that positive academicresults are equivalent to true mastery of course materials. But,certainly most importantly, would it benefit our profession, either inthe short or long run? I have not read a single comment which convincesme that it would."
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