Making right to be right in IFoA actuarial education

Hi,

Are you concerned about the integrity of the IFoA actuarial exams?

Would you like to show your support for education reform in the IFoA?

And would you like to help IFoA students who have suffered grave harm from being falsely accused of cheating/plagiarism?

The background to this GoFundMe is the story of two IFoA actuarial students who were falsely accused of cheating. One had support from a large employer and the IFoA backed down when the employer stood up for the student. The other student didn't have such support and has suffered unjust harm. The cases against both students were baseless.

I came across another baseless cheating accusation made against an old student just last Friday, so I don't believe these are isolated cases, and I explicitly know of other cases.

When a student is accused of cheating, immediately they fear that they will not just be fired, but that they won't get another job again, that their actuarial career is likely finished. To receive such an allegation, to be intimidated, and not be able to stand against it, is grossly unjust.

The purpose of this GoFundMe is to establish funds for legal advice and challenge against the IFoA, for example, in the form of a class action type case, where the basis of cheating/plagiarism allegations are clearly unsound.

In April 2025, the IFoA intends to run online, closed-book and close-web exams. Obviously, to most people, this is simply unsound. The method proposed to police this is to monitor eye movement during the exam. Since most people (including myself) move their eyes a lot when they are thinking, many students are likely to be falsely accused of cheating in April. I will not stand by and watch students be treated like this.

If you would like to show your support, please do so?

Many small donations would show more general support within the actuarial profession for education reform and for actions to be taken to stop such a nonsense approach to examining. More crucially, it will provide 'might' in monetary form, to help students stand up against the monetary 'might' of the IFoA, and to balance the scales.

It is essential that right is right in actuarial education. This is the cornerstone and the foundation of the profession.

If this GoFundMe initiative is successful, I will post contact details for students to contact me on my LinkedIn page so they can potentially access support. Further details about this will be provided then.

I discussed this issue with another actuary recently and they highlighted an analogy with what happened in the Catholic Church in Ireland. Is the actuarial profession going to turn a blind eye to this, to try to misguidedly protect a public image? If so, they should consider what is now the effective share price of the Catholic Church in Ireland! What side of history do you want to be on?