Mathematics 280, Summer 2013

Illinois State University – Mathematics Department

Instructors

Classes Meet

This class is held online.

Office Hours

By appointment. You can also make an appointment at http://krzysio.acuityscheduling.com. Contact the instructor by e-mail (krzysio@ilstu.edu), or inside ReggieNet, or Skype (krzysio1898), or Apple FaceTime (krzysio@ilstu.edu or 309-287-1711), or gmail (krzysio1898@gmail.com).

Textbooks

There will study notes, exercises and videos provided online. You can use any of the books listed as textbooks for the Course FM/2 professional actuarial examination, but the class materials posted online, as well as video lectures will refer to this text: Study Manual for the Course FM/2 Examination (this link is for electronic version) by Krzysztof Ostaszewski, available at Actex Publications (this linik is for both paper and electronic version) or the Actuarial Bookstore (this link is for paper version).

Objective

The objective of this class is to present the main concepts of basic, deterministic, financial mathematics. These include: time value of money, mesurement of interest, annuities, loans, bonds, stocks and preferred stocks, duration, convexity, immunization, and derivative securities such as forwards, futures, options and swaps. The class will cover the entire material tested on the Course FM/2 professional actuarial examination, for which the current syllabus is posted here. Note that the next available testing period for Course FM/2 professional actuarial examination is August 8-19, 2013, and the deadline to register for this testing period is June 27, 2013. You can find all dates for Computer Based Tests for professional actuarial examinations here.

Grading

There will be four take home mid-term examinations, and two supervised final examination. You must schedule your supervised final examinations on campus of Illinois State University or at another supervised secure location (e.g., at a local university or community college at a location where you are, or at an insurance company office). One of the two examinations must be taken by August 2, 2013 at the latest, and the second one must be taken by August 9, 2013 at the latest. You are required to work on your take home tests by yourself, without obtaining help from anyone else, and submit written solutions by sending your work as an e-mail attachment to the instructor (make it one file for each assignment). The final will count as 40% of your grade, and the best two of the remaining five tests (four take home tests, and the second final) will count as 30% of your grade each. You will also get up to 10% extra credit for the best of the remaining tests. The grading scale will be as follows: 90% or better — A, 80% to 90% — B, 70% to 80% — C, 60% to 70% — D, below 60% — F. If you have an A after the regular final, you will not be given the second final. After each test is graded, you will receive an e-mail with information on how to log in to  secure site where you will be able to view your grade(s). You will also receive a PDF file of your test with grading indicated, and you can submit any questions you might have about the grading to the instructor.

Disability concerns

Any student needing a special accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at Fell Hall, Room 350.

Important dates

Illinois State University important dates information for the Summer 2013 semester is given here: http://www.registrar.ilstu.edu/downloads/calendars/summer2013cal.pdf.

Schedule of classes

• Monday, May 20, 2013: Classes start.
• Friday, May 24, 2013: You are expected to have watched all Week 1 video lectures and have studied the corresponding material, including going through all listed Week 1 exercises.
• Friday, May 31, 2013: You are expected to have watched all Week 2 video lectures and have studied the corresponding material, including going through all listed Week 2 exercises. You will receive Take Home Midterm Examination 1, covering material through May 31, 2013, given to you, and due June 14, 2013, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time.
• Friday, June 6, 2013: You are expected to have watched all Week 3 video lectures and have studied the corresponding material, including going through all listed Week 3 exercises. You will receive Take Home Midterm Examination 2, covering material through June 7, 2013, given to you, and due June 21, 2013, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time.
• Friday, June 14, 2013: You are expected to have watched all Week 4 video lectures and have studied the corresponding material, including going through all listed Week 4 exercises. You will receive Take Home Midterm Examination 3, covering material through June 14, 2013, given to you, and due June 28, 2013, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time.
• Friday, June 21, 2013: You are expected to have watched all Week 5 video lectures and have studied the corresponding material, including going through all listed Week 5 exercises. You will receive Take Home Midterm Examination 4, covering material through June 21, 2013, given to you, and due July 5, 2013, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time.
• Friday, August 2, 2013: You must schedule your first supervised final examination on or before this date. The arrangement must be approved by the instructor.
• Friday, August 9, 2013: You must schedule your first supervised final examination on or before this date. The arrangement must be approved by the instructor.

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All information contained here is, to our best knowledge, correct, but it is merely a representation, and should not be considered to be any form of professional advice. This electronic publication should not be misconstrued as the official position of Illinois State University, or its Department of Mathematics. We are glad to provide as much information as possible here, but we kindly ask that in any decision related to matters listed here you seek additional counsel and information. Comments on this Home Page are welcome and should be sent to Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski  at his e-mail address: krzysio@ilstu.edu.