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CP3 Pass List Sep 2018

Yes this exam is something else - when I passed it, it was the only attempt which I thought I wasn't going to pass.. whereas the previous ones, I was like, "I have a good feeling I got it"

I feel your pain - keep going, your day will come for sure
 
Yeah, that's sadly true.
It looks easy, with very little study notes also. But it's not actually a straightforward exam.
Going for it next April...let's hope for the best! :)
 
I failed by 1 mark

  1. What are the rules about my publishing my exam paper for all to see now that results have come out?
  2. I didn't submit anything for mitigating circumstances with the platform failing because I figured it affected everyone (roughly) equally. Does anyone in the know actually know if mitigating circumstances (for the systematic failure of the exam process) could have been taken into account, or would have been taken into account for anyone officially raising the issue under the mitigating circumstances policy?

Cheers
Pete

*Edit

I’ve now seen the global reduction in pass rate is how they solved the problems with the online platform.*
 
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Failed by two!! Ugh. I was actually going to write a tutor and ask if it were possible to have my exam paper marked. I'll wait until the report is up but two marks off is rough!
 
"We promised that we would keep you informed of decisions made about the CP3 examination you sat in September where you experienced some problems.


In light of the technical issues experienced by candidates sitting the September CP3 exam, the matter was referred to the Board of Examiners for further consideration. It was concluded by the Board that the extent of the problem was significant enough to consider implementing a global adjustment. An adjustment was agreed and resulted in the pass mark of the CP3 exam being reduced to 58. This adjustment has been reflected in the Examiner report due to be published on Monday 17 December.


As you will know our suppliers have now made modifications to the online platform and we are testing this on Tuesday 18 December. Many thanks to those of you who have volunteered to help us with this.


Regards

Andrew Berrow, Head of Learning Operations"

Missed out by 2 marks. Just received this email concerning the system challenges on exam day. The said global adjustment seems rather uncouth considering that some of us only got to receive the paper 20 minutes after the exam was scheduled to start.

Cant seem to figure out how the "global adjustment" makes up for the technical experiences we faced.

Giving it another shot in April though....
 
Ah, so only 45% of entrants are considered good enough communicators to deserve being an actuary, judged by the IFoA who have an awful track record on communicating.
 
This was my first attempt and I also did not pass. Does anyone know how to apply for Subject Access Request? I would like to see the breakdown of my marks which would help my revision.
 
cw812 said:
This was my first attempt and I also did not pass. Does anyone know how to apply for Subject Access Request? I would like to see the breakdown of my marks which would help my revision.
Click to expand...

*Students please note: all correspondence regarding subject access should be directed to data.protection@actuaries.org.uk not Education services or individual staff members*

I don’t think you’ll have to fill out a proper SAR to get a breakdown. Just ask them for the marks and ask them to let you know if they need a proper SAR. You can google a template.

You’ll only get a rough breakdown of marks. Try as hard as you like, they won’t give you anything more or provide any more details.

They don’t have any records with examiners comments and they don’t have conventional mark sheets. They group marks roughly in line with the examiners report/solution, but not exact tick box mark sheet.
 
PeteC said:
*Students please note: all correspondence regarding subject access should be directed to data.protection@actuaries.org.uk not Education services or individual staff members*
Click to expand...

What they're telling people is actually rather phoney. You don't have to email anyone in particular to get a subject access request. You don't even need to be specific about what you want (exam marks) - you could just say I am making a subject access request. Then they would have to send you everything they have on you in 30 days.

Haven't you actuarial professionals been through such training yourselves? You could receive such an email, and if you've undergone such training then you know it's your duty to forward such emails to your data protection officer or whoever it is that deals with this. It doesn't mean the clock ticks from when they get it but rather from when your employer receives it i.e. your inbox. It is not down to the requester to email the correct person.

We all know, or should know, that this is how 'corporate lawyers' would like us to behave, putting hurdles up that don't exist so that their failing & unlawful conduct can be 'defended' but from what I've seen IFoA lawyers don't make, or interpret, the law. Therefore I would prefer it if IFoA were more accurate and said they welcomed subject access requests to any member of staff but that they preferred it sent to that email address.

I would additionally recommend members ask in addition to exam marks to specifically request any note, alert note, pop up note, that IFoA hold in order to instruct staff to treat you differently to other members. IFoA do hold such notes, they have failed to show such notes in subject access requests, unlawfully so in the view of the Information Commissioner's Office, so make sure you know exactly what they hold about you...
 
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I truly feel your pain for those who did not pass, I sat this exam more times than I want to count and FINALLY passed this time. It has been my last exam for four years. It has been a brutal and expensive experience but it taught me perseverance.

My advice for those resitting is:

1. Don't give up - keep trying and at some point, you WILL pass

2. Email education.services@actuaries.org.uk ASAP to request for a breakdown of your marks, saying it is a subject access request & provide your ARN number. An email is sufficient, no need for a template or letter. This was a lot more helpful than exam counselling for me as you get a breakdown of marks from the two markers. You get an idea of how subjective it can be from one marker to another in certain parts of the exam and which part of the marking schedule has more "guaranteed" marks. Focus on the more "guaranteed" areas. You can see exactly where you lost marks so you can work on those areas, plus it's free.

3. The Acted Online Live tutorial was excellent. I live outside the UK so I could not attend in person. The connection was decent and I had very few technical issues. it covered the key differences between CA3 and CP3. The tutor, Helen Evans was very clear, it was more interactive than I expected for a webinar with opportunities to ask questions and work together in groups "virtually" on questions.

4. Prep your answer to Q2 in advance to save time. The question seems to be along the same lines each sitting.

5. Try not to get thrown by technical difficulties as it seems to be a regular occurrence. The paper tends to be available late as the portal crashes when everyone logs on but an extension of 10-15 mins is usually granted in those circumstances. Just stay steely and focused.

Thanks for all the advice shared by others which helped me pass, paying it forward with the tips above. Hope it helps :)
 
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Hello abumenang!
Thanks for your advice, especially about Q2. We usually tend to focus more on the big part, and less on the small questions (which could easily fetch us some extra marks).
I just have one question, when u say acted online live tutorial, do you mean online Preparation Day?
Thanks
 
Sailajah G said:
Hello abumenang!
Thanks for your advice, especially about Q2. We usually tend to focus more on the big part, and less on the small questions (which could easily fetch us some extra marks).
I just have one question, when u say acted online live tutorial, do you mean online Preparation Day?
Thanks
Click to expand...

No problem Sailajah. Yes, I was referring to the online preparation day.
 
I filled in a mitigating circumstances form because I thought I'd give it a try given that some people got the paper emailed whereas I never did. Just heard back and the panel decided not to change my mark. I was only two marks off so its a shame that the panel didn't think that losing over 15 mins could have impacted my results...
Anyway, maybe this can comfort anyone that didn't fill in a mitigating circumstances form - you aren't missing out on any extra marks.

I'd be interested to hear anyone else's experience. It also seems strange to change the pass mark for everyone when some people were emailed the paper and some were not.
 
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I was in a similar situation, I think most people didn't receive the paper until maybe 15 mins after the start, either being emailed it or being able to download it from the portal eventually. I think the global reduction is fair enough to be honest, given that so many people were affected, and not everyone would have submitted a mitigating circumstances form.
 
patron said:
I was in a similar situation, I think most people didn't receive the paper until maybe 15 mins after the start, either being emailed it or being able to download it from the portal eventually. I think the global reduction is fair enough to be honest, given that so many people were affected, and not everyone would have submitted a mitigating circumstances form.
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Agreed that everyone was impacted. But if you were emailed the paper you would know that you had fifteen minutes extra at the end as the previous communication had said "upload your submission on the web platform or email to online_exams@actuaries.org.uk by 13:15 (unless you have access arrangements in place) You will still have 3 hours to complete the exam". As i did not receive as email, I did not know if I had fifteen minutes extra and therefore did not have 3 hours to complete the exam. (I considered the possibility that I was the only one impacted by the issue and did not want to risk my submission being rejected because it was late). So I do think it is a different situation if you were not emailed the paper.

Happy to agree to disagree though. The platform not working will have distracted everyone, regardless of whether the amount of time you have to complete the exam was impacted.
 
To be clear, I wasn't emailed it either. I submitted at 1pm because I wasn't aware of the extra time.

It was a bad situation really, and definitely caused additional stress. I'll be interested to read what they say in the examiner's report. I get the feeling CP3 isn't a very time pressured paper (unlike some written papers or CP2), so maybe the increased stress is more of a factor than the time itself?
 
patron said:
To be clear, I wasn't emailed it either. I submitted at 1pm because I wasn't aware of the extra time.

It was a bad situation really, and definitely caused additional stress. I'll be interested to read what they say in the examiner's report. I get the feeling CP3 isn't a very time pressured paper (unlike some written papers or CP2), so maybe the increased stress is more of a factor than the time itself?
Click to expand...

Definitely agreed. It felt like such unnecessary extra stress! It'll be interesting how they cover it in the examiners report.
Maybe the mitigating circumstance reviewers were thinking along similar lines about the lack of time pressure, and hence why i didn't get my extra two marks. Or maybe just because it would be unfair on anyone that didn't submit a mitigating circumstances form. Ah well. Fingers crossed for April.
 
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