This course requires students to complete a 24 unit honours thesis in actuarial studies. Students will undertake independent research in actuarial studies under the guidance of a supervisor.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

At completion of this thesis course, students will have developed the capacity to perform independent research, and have an in-depth knowledge of their chosen research topic.

Research-Led Teaching

This course provides students with the opportunity to undertake supervised research under the guidance of a staff member.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying remotely, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback via written and verbal feedback from their supervisor.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Scaling

Your final mark for the course will be based on the raw marks allocated for each of your assessment items. However, your final mark may not be the same number as produced by that formula, as marks may be scaled. Any scaling applied will preserve the rank order of raw marks (i.e. if your raw mark exceeds that of another student, then your scaled mark will exceed the scaled mark of that student), and may be either up or down.

Course Schedule

Contact hours for the course will take the form of periodic meetings between student and supervisor.

Referencing Requirements

Harvard referencing style should be used.

Support for Students

The University offers a number of support services for students. Information on these is available online from http://students.anu.edu.au/studentlife/

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	To be determined in conjunction with the supervisor.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Thesis Proposal Presentation to Staff	5 %	27/09/2022	07/10/2022	1
Second thesis presentation to staff	5 %	27/09/2022	07/10/2022	1
Research thesis	90 %	07/11/2022	01/12/2022	1

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Guideline and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Thesis Proposal Presentation to Staff

This assessment task applies to students who will commence honours in Semester 2 2022 and are expected to finish honours in Semester 1 2023.

Name of Assessment Task:

Thesis proposal presentation to staff

Details of Task:

Students are required to give a 15 minute presentation to staff which covers:

• Proposed research topic
• Motivation and contribution of research topic
• Literature review
• Preliminary details on data sources and models
• Next steps in research plan

Value: 5%

Due date: The thesis proposal presentation will be held on Thursday 27 September 2022

The presentation slides are to be submitted electronically using the Turnitin submission box on the Wattle site.

The presentation will be assessed by two faculty members in statistics. The criteria for marking will include:

• clarity in definition of research topic
• strength of justification of contribution of proposed research topic
• demonstration of knowledge of relevant literature
• ability to handle questions from the audience
• quality of delivery of presentation
• quality of slides to display information (eg not cluttered, large enough font etc.)

Students commencing their thesis in the current semester (and expected to finish in Semester 1, 2023) are also required to satisfactorily complete the following tasks in order to complete this course during this semester:

• Attendance at workshops run by the Academic Skills and Learning Centre (dates vary - see Wattle site for details)
• Submission of thesis timeline (see course Wattle site for date)
• Submission of written thesis proposal (see course Wattle site for date)

Further information on these tasks (including exact dates) can be found in the Wattle site for this course and the Honours Program Guide which can be found on this site.

Assessment Task 2

Second thesis presentation to staff

This assessment task applies to students who commenced honours in Semester 1 2022 and are expected to finish honours in Semester 2 2022.

Name of Assessment Task:

Second honours presentation to staff

Details of Task:

Students are required to give a 15 minute presentation to staff which covers:

• Brief review of proposed research topic
• Key results to date and contribution made
• Remaining steps before submission of thesis

Value: 5%

Due date: The second presentation to staff will be held on Thursday 27 September 2022

The presentation slides are to be submitted electronically using the Turnitin submission box on the Wattle site.

The presentation will be assessed by two faculty members in statistics. The criteria for marking will include:

• depth of analysis and results to date
• ability to handle questions from the audience
• quality of delivery of presentation to communicate key findings
• quality of slides to present key results (eg clear graphs and tables)

Assessment Task 3

Research thesis

This assessment task applies to students who commenced honours in Semester 1 2022 and are expected to finish honours in Semester 2 2022.

Name of Assessment Task:

Research Thesis

Details of Task:

Submission of the final research report, structured as a thesis.

Word limit:

24-unit thesis: 80 pages (double spaced). This is a hard limit and students will be penalised if this limit is exceeded.

Value: 90%

Due date: Monday 7 November 2022

The research thesis is to be submitted electronically using the Turnitin submission box on the Wattle site.

Students finishing their thesis in the current semester are also required to satisfactorily complete the following tasks in order to complete this course:

• Attendance at workshops run by the Academic Skills and Learning Centre (dates vary - see Wattle site for details)
• Second Presentation to staff and submission of presentation slides (see Assessment Task 2 above)

Further information on these tasks (including exact dates) can be found in the Wattle site for this course and the Honours Program Guide which can be found on this site.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

All assessment items (including your thesis) will be submitted electronically by submission to the Turnitin box on the Wattle site.

Hardcopy Submission

Hard copy submission is only appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Returning Assignments

You will receive examiner comments on your thesis by email after Semester 2 2022 grades are released by ANU on Thursday 1 December 2022 as per the ANU academic calendar.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Resubmission of your thesis is not possible.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students