CAS Announces Changes to 2023 Credentialing Requirements
The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is announcing two changes to its credentialing requirements as part of its multi-year Admissions Transformation Plan (ATP):
- Effective 1/1/2023, Exam 3F will no longer be required for earning the Associate of the CAS (ACAS) credential. Candidates may obtain credit for Exam 3F through the end of 2022.
- Passing a new online course on data concepts, administered by The Institutes, will be required for ACAS. The course will be available in fall 2022.
As such, the requirements for ACAS beginning in 2023 will be either having credit for Exam 3F or passing the new online data concepts course. There are no changes in requirements for those currently holding ACAS or FCAS credentials.
Phasing Out Exam 3F
The CAS does not currently administer Exam 3F. Instead, credit is obtained by passing the exams or receiving exam waivers from other actuarial organizations. Most candidates earn credit for Exam 3F by passing the Society of Actuaries’ (SOA) Exam IFM. The SOA announced earlier this year that it was eliminating Exam IFM from its requirements based on a job analysis that looked at the knowledge and skills actuaries will need in the future. The CAS also recently conducted a Job Task Analysis that reached the same conclusion as the SOA – in the preparation of future actuaries, there should be greater emphasis on predictive analytics, and the ATP specifically calls for the CAS to include more predictive analytics topics in its credentialing requirements.
The SOA has announced that the last offering of Exam IFM will be in November 2022. To minimize the disruption to candidates currently on the ACAS credentialing path, candidates can continue to obtain credit for Exam 3F through the end of 2022. Any candidate earning their ACAS based on Exam 3F credit received by the last offering in November 2022 will not be required to pass the new data concepts course.
New Online Course on Data Concepts
Like the current CAS Online Courses 1 and 2, the new online course on data concepts will be administered by The Institutes. The course will largely pull from material tested on The CAS Institute’s course “iCAS DS1 - Data Concepts and Visualization,” which is a requirement for the Certified Specialist in Predictive Analytics (CSPA) credential. The course will be considered a preliminary CAS requirement. It will be offered beginning in fall 2022, with additional details announced in early 2022.
Summary of 2022 and 2023 Requirements
New Interactive Online Tool
With this announcement, the CAS has released a new online interactive tool that assists candidates in charting their path through the 2023 CAS credentialing program, from preliminary requirements to Fellowship examinations.
Candidate Considerations
The CAS Board of Directors sought the input of a variety of stakeholders in considering these changes to credentialing requirements. In addition to considering the results of the Job Task Analysis, the Board heard from candidates, employers, admissions volunteers, the Risk Management Committee, and others prior to reaching its decision.
The most revealing and impactful input was provided through a recent candidate survey and employers, who expressed:
- While high-performing candidates often apply to jobs with three or even four exams passed, candidates find SOA Exams P and FM to be the most important in terms of securing an internship or an entry level job.
- Employers also view the first two exams as an objective metric to hire candidates, but would like candidates to have more knowledge of the P&C insurance industry and familiarity with data concepts when they begin entry level jobs.
- Candidates find that certain material tested on Exam 3F is not important in their entry level jobs. (Note that the admissions team has not made a final determination of whether any learning objectives from Exam 3F will be retained within CAS credentialing requirements, and if so, where they would be assessed. Additional details will be announced at a later date.)
Recognizing the effects on candidates and interests of employers, the CAS will be encouraging its candidates to sit for CAS online courses after meeting the Exam 1 and 2 requirements. New P&C hires will find that the online courses give them a valuable knowledge base for their work, while university students and those seeking employment will find that completing the online courses will make them more attractive to prospective P&C employers. Moreover, since the online courses are less intensive than full examinations and can be taken remotely, they should be an appealing option for candidates in all phases of their career, from students to full-time employees.
This announcement about changes to credentialing requirements is the first of many, as the CAS releases key milestones to evolve and enhance our future credentialing program in fulfillment of the ATP. We invite you to email any questions or comments about CAS credentialing requirements to CAS Administrative and Customer Support at casexams@casact.org.
