Syllabus for Math 400 (Actuarial
Mathematics)
Spring 2009 Semester at
Course Content
The theoretical basis of actuarial models and their
application to insurance and other financial risks. Topics include
survival and severity models, frequency models, compound (aggregate) models,
and life contingencies. Prerequisite: Math 332 and Math 400 (Theory
of Interest).
Who Should be Taking This Course
This
course can be used (1) to satisfy a requirement toward the actuarial
mathematics major and as preparation to take the AM exam administered by the
Society of Actuaries, and (2) to satisfy one of the elective course
requirements for the mathematics major.
|
|
Instructor(s)
|
Name |
Office Location |
Office Hours |
Office
Phone |
|
Dr. Gene Sprechini |
Academic
Center D311 |
Mon 8:30-9:30am Wed 8:30-9:30am Fri 8:30-9:30am |
(570)
321-4288 |
Tutoring
No tutoring is currently scheduled for this course.
Grading
|
Item |
Point
Values and Policies |
|
Homework |
Points
from homework assignments leading up to each exam are added, up to a maximum
total of 50. Completing all homework
is strongly encouraged, even though no more than 50 points can be earned
leading up to each exam. No points are ever given for late homework for any reason. Students who miss submitting an assignment
on time can still earn the maximum 50 points leading up to the exam, if no
more than 2 or 3 other homework assignments are missed. A student who misses submitting more than
10 homework assignments automatically fails the course. |
|
Semester Exams |
Up
to 150 points can be earned on each semester exam given in class. For each missed exam, a grade of zero is
recorded, unless (1) the instructor is presented with documented evidence of
a medical reason for not completing the exam at the scheduled time, and (2)
arrangements to make up the exam are made within 24 hours of the originally
scheduled exam time. |
|
Final Exam |
The
final exam is worth 400 points, with 50 points coming from the homework leading
up to the final exam and 350 points coming from the final exam administered
during final exam week. |
|
Attendance |
The
final course grade percentage is reduced by 5% for each unexcused absence
after the third unexcused absence; an absence is considered to be excused
when the instructor accepts an email from the student explaining the reason
for the absence. It is the student’s
responsibility to find out what was missed in class and keep up with the coursework. Students can get a copy of class notes from
the instructor, from a tutor, or from a classmate. A
student with more than 8 unexcused absences automatically fails the course. |
|
There
is a total of 1000 points that can be earned.
The final course grade percentage is the percentage of points earned
out of the total number of points that can be earned. The final course letter grade is determined
from the following: A
= above 93.33% A– =
90% to 93.33% B+
= 86.67% to 90% B =
83.33% to 86.67% B– = 80%
to 83.33% C+
= 76.67% to 80% C =
73.33% to 76.67% C– = 70% to
73.33% D+
= 66.67% to 70% D =
63.33% to 66.67% D– = 60% to
63.33% F
= below 60% |
|
Required Materials
Each
student must have
·
a copy of Models for Quantifying Risk by Robin
Cunningham, Thomas Herzog, and Richard London, 3rd edition, 2006
·
a three-ring binder with a section containing a copy of
this syllabus together with the course schedule, a section containing the class
handouts, and a section containing homework assignments (Since students will
need to use this binder every day in class and will be allowed to use this
binder for exams, it should be kept up-to-date and complete; also, many of the
exercises assigned both in and out of class will refer back to work done in one
or more previous exercises.)
·
a calculator (any
TI-84 or TI-83 calculator is recommended but not required) – students will need
to use the calculator almost every day in class, for completing many of the
required assignments, and on exams
·
a computer
account on the college network in order to access Excel
At
various times throughout this course, you will need to access certain Excel
files. These files can be accessed by
going to the I: drive on the college network,
going to the APPS folder,
going to the FAC_PRGS folder,
going to the Sprechini
folder,
going to the Math_400 folder.
General Standards and Policies
All work submitted must be of
professional quality. All paper must be
neat, without ragged edges, rips, tears, smudges, stains, etc. All answers must be clear, complete, and
concise; handwriting must be legible. If
the instructor can't read it, it's wrong.
Assignments may be down-graded if these standards are not met.
It can be very helpful for some
students to work together on daily assignments and to study together; this is
encouraged when it does not result in one student simply copying another's work
with no understanding. Acts of academic
dishonesty will result in a grade of F for the course, and a letter to the Dean
describing the circumstances. If you are
having problems in the course, talk to the instructor; don't involve yourself
in academic dishonesty. With each assignment submitted, students are expected
to write a short note at the end of the assignment indicating from whom help
was received and to whom help was given (but this does not affect the grade for
the assignment). The following is from
the FACULTY HANDBOOK in the section titled Student
Course Load:
"It
is expected that students will spend, in preparation for courses, two hours of
study time outside the classroom for every hour of credit in the
classroom."
This
means that you should be prepared to spend, on average, eight hours per week
outside of class working on a four-credit course; however, this will vary from
student to student and from course to course.
Your time will be spent reading the text, reviewing class notes, and
completing homework exercises.