Foundation ActEd Course

What is the Foundation ActEd Course?

The Foundation ActEd Course (FAC) is designed to help students improve their mathematical skills in preparation for the Core Technical subjects. It is a reference document to which students can refer when they need help on a particular topic. Each chapter contains explanatory notes, examples and self-assessment questions to test understanding. There is also a Summary Test and a Question and Answer Bank providing extra practice for students.

Why purchase Foundation ActEd Course?

The Institute and Faculty produce guidance on the mathematics skills required by students joining the profession. FAC reflects this guidance and therefore comprehensively covers all the mathematics required for the Core Technical subjects. Unlike other mathematical textbooks it is geared specifically towards actuarial students.

Which topics does the Foundation ActEd Course cover?

FAC covers the mathematical material needed as the background for Subjects CT1, CT3, CT4, CT5, CT6 and CT8. Many of the topics covered are beyond the scope of A-Level or Higher Level syllabuses.

The topics covered by FAC include:

• Notation and conventions used in financial and actuarial mathematics
• Differentiation and integration techniques
• Complex numbers
• Algebra, including summation of series and binomial expansions

A sample of the Course Notes and the full Syllabus for FAC can be downloaded at the end of this section.

Which students will benefit from the Foundation ActEd Course?

Students with numerate degrees and a good memory of the topics covered in A-Level or Higher Level mathematics may not need to purchase this course. Many other students (particularly those with less numerate degrees or those whose maths is a little rusty) will benefit greatly from the study material and practice questions provided by FAC.

We have written an Initial Assessment to help employers assess whether or not a student would benefit from the Foundation ActEd Course. There are 20 questions which are typical of problems that will be encountered in the context of the actuarial exams and which are covered in detail in the course. Students should attempt the Initial Assessment without reference to a textbook and should take around 60 minutes.  

The Initial Assessment can be downloaded at the end of this section. Full solutions are available from ActEd.

Does ActEd provide face-to-face tuition?

ActEd does not run public tutorials for FAC. However, we would be happy to run a full-day in-house maths refresher tutorial to give new students a flying start to their study. If you would like to discuss how ActEd can help, please contact Bev Butler.

How can I download further information about FAC?

Click here to download a sample of the Course Notes.

Click here to download the full Syllabus for FAC.

Click here to download the Initial Assessment.

Click here to download the FAC application form.

The FAC samples are in Adobe Acrobat format, and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 5.05 or 6.0 to view and print it. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it here.

How to order

Please click here if you would like to place an order.

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