Call for Volunteers: Variance and Monographs Editors Needed

Variance and the CAS monographs are in search of volunteers to review submissions. It’s a great opportunity to contribute to new actuarial literature!

A significant part of the work in producing Variance and monographs involves reviewing submissions. This is handled by (1) the Variance associate editors, who select and invite peer reviewers, and (2) the reviewers themselves. Variance needs volunteers for both roles, and the CAS monograph program is in search of peer reviewers.

Associate editors (AEs) should have some prior experience with peer review for a journal or other publication. It is their responsibility to identify reviewers, work with them in the evaluation of the paper, and then present a recommendation to the Variance editors on whether to publish a paper. Timeliness is important, and AEs should begin the process of inviting reviewers within 11 days of receiving a paper.

Reviewers perform a formal evaluation of a submission, which includes reading and assessing the quality of the paper, providing suggestions to authors, and making a recommendation to the AE. If a paper is revised, the reviewer will be asked to take a look at the submitted revision to see if the revision fully addresses the reviewers’ concerns. Reviewers are expected to complete their review within 30 days.

AEs and reviewers handle the stages of review through CAS’s online submission portal, ScholarOne. Training is provided for those who are unfamiliar with the platform.

If you are interested, contact Donna Royston (droyston@casact.org) or Elizabeth Smith (esmith@casact.org).