Mathematics 280, Summer 2012

Illinois State University – Mathematics Department

Instructors

Classes Meet

This class is held online.

Office Hours

By appointment. Contact the instructor by e-mail (krzysio@ilstu.edu), or inside Blackboard, or inside ReggieNet, or Skype (krzysio1898), or gmail (krzysio1898@gmail.com). You can also make an appointment at http://actuary.acuityscheduling.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 by Krzysztof Ostaszewski, available at Actex Publications or the Actuarial Bookstore (the only places selling them).

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.

Use of calculators

You will be allowed to use any calculator, but using a calculator approved for professional actuarial examinations is strongly encouraged. Here is the information about calculators approved for professional actuarial examinations: http://www.beanactuary.org/exams/calculators.cfm.

Grading

There will be four take home mid-term examinations and a supervised final examination (and a possible second supervised final examination). You must schedule your supervised final examination on campus of Illinois State University in the week starting Monday, June 25, 2012 and ending Friday, June 29, 2012, by Monday, June 18, 2012 by contacting this class instructor by e-mail. 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 four take home tests will count as 30% of your grade each. You will also get up to 10% extra credit for the best of the remaining take home 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.

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. If you are not satisfied with your grade as of July 2, 2012 (when all regular tests will be graded and class grade will be determined), you may schedule a second supervised final examination, which must be taken before Summer Session ends, and get an additional grade for it. That grade will replace the regular final grade if it is higher, and if it is not, it will replace one of the take home midterms, if it is higher than any of the ones that are counted for your grade. if the regular final is replaced by the second final, the regular final grade can replace a grade for a take home final if it its higher. Effectively, your grade will end up being determined as 40% of the higher of the two finals, plus 30% of the highest two of the second final and four take home tests, plus 30% of the second highest of the second final and four take home tests, plus 10% of the best of the remaining tests.  If you have an A after the regular final, you will not be given the second final.

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 2012 semester is given here: http://www.registrar.ilstu.edu/downloads/calendars/summer2012cal.pdf.

Schedule of classes

• Monday, May 21, 2012: Classes start.
• Friday, May 25, 2012: 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, June 1, 2012: 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. Take home Midterm Examination 1, covering material through June 1, 2012, given to you, and due June 8, 2012 (11:59 p.m.).
• Friday, June 8, 2012: 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. Take home Midterm Examination 2, covering material through June 8, 2012, given to you, and due June 15, 2012 (11:59 p.m.).
• Friday, June 15, 2012: 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. Take home Midterm Examination 3, covering material through June 15, 2012, given to you, and due June 22, 2012 (11:59 p.m.).
• Friday, June 22, 2012: 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. Take home Midterm Examination 4, covering material through June 22, 2012, given to you, and due June 29, 2012 (11:59 p.m.).
• Friday, June 29, 2012: The deadline for you to schedule a supervised test on campus of Illinois State University, or on campus of another university (can be a community college, or another educational institution, or even some other institution, as long as appropriate supervised arrangements approved by class instructor are made) if supervised by a faculty member who agrees to supervise you and such arrangements is approved by this class instructor. This supervised test will serve as your final.
• Friday, August 10, 2012: Summer Session ends.

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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.