ü Confirm support of your administration, and the local insurance and risk management community
ü Identify design criteria
o Any requirements or constraints on learning outcomes?
o Will this be a major, minor, concentration, emphasis, specialty, or certificate program? Will there be specialty tracks (e.g. agency & insurer; agency, claims, & underwriting)? A major includes more RMI courses, gives greater status to the program, signals to the professional community that you're are serious about supporting this program, levels the competition with majors graduating from other colleges/universities, and would help in attracting faculty with a Ph.D. in RMI if needed for accreditation. However, a minor or concentration or emphasis or specialty is easier and quicker to create and staff.
o Include preparation for an insurance agent/broker license exam?
o Want students to earn professional designations while taking courses? This gives your students a significant competitive edge for internships, and jobs upon graduation. Consider Insurance Institute materials (INS, ARM, AAI, ASLI, AU, AIC, ARe, CPCU) or American College materials (CLU, ChFC, CFP).
o Consider “non-RMI” courses you will need as well:
§ Require at least algebra, pre-calculus, and statistics to support courses on insurance operations and risk management that include loss development and loss forecasting topics
§ Require finance courses to support courses on insurance operations, risk management (cash flow analysis), and financial planning
§ Require business law courses to support courses on insurance contracts
§ Require economics, accounting, marketing, and management to support the business knowledge that RMI majors will need
§ Require writing and communication courses
§ Require computer application courses so students really learn how to use all of the features of common application software, such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and recommend database and statistical packages
§ Recommend additional courses in ethics in business, cultural diversity (in addition to local diversity, larger insurers and risk managers often deal with international exposures), and negotiations
§ Take advantage of other distinctive courses at your school that may complement an RMI curriculum, by recommending courses such as cybercrime, forensic accounting, environmental science as options in the major or electives
o In-seat, online, or blended delivery? Synchronous and/or asynchronous? What technology does your school have available? (more on this in a future post)
o Focus on traditional or non-traditional college students?
o Accept credits from other educational institutions? Interest in a degree-completion program (e.g. for students that have earned professional designations and want to transfer the designation courses for academic credit towards a four-year degree)?
o Preparation for entry-level positions or leadership positions in the future or both?
o Focus on the property-casualty or life-health or financial planning or employee benefits segments of the business? Each of them offers rewarding career opportunities. Is one of these business segments in your local community more interested in supporting a program at your college/university? Which business segment in your local community is more interested and more likely to support your program with resources (internships, placement upon graduation, scholarships and other financial support, qualified adjunct faculty – more on adjuncts in a future post)? If a major in the life or financial planning field is desired, consider the requirements for the CFP designation, and apply to become a CFP Board-Registered Program
o Consider articulation agreements with the Insurance Institutes and/or American College
o Focus on the standard insurance market? Include study of the surplus lines insurance market?
o Incorporation of college/university mission or vision: is there an emphasis or theme of ethics? Responsibility? Others?
o Require or strongly recommend an internship? Many insurance employers are interested in "test-driving" students, and some will offer positions upon graduation before the students return for their senior year to "beat the competition"!
o May students enter the program as freshmen, sophomores, or juniors?
o Minimum overall grade point average requirement? (Many of the larger employers won’t interview graduating seniors with less than a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale)
o Which department should host the program? Depending on the design criteria and the focus of the program, the risk management/insurance/financial planning program could fall under:
§ Finance – if the focus is on insurance, risk financing, or financial planning
§ Management – if the focus is on risk management, enterprise risk management
§ Real estate and law – if the focus is on insurance contracts, risk management
ü Use the design criteria to develop Program Outcomes and Course Learning Outcomes
ü Assemble an advisory committee of professionals representing a cross-section of the insurance and risk management business
o Work with them to develop a “charge” or mission that clearly identifies expectations (e.g. advice on curriculum – but not an authority that makes final decisions, assistance with internships and job placement for graduates, promotion of the program, assistance with recruiting, financial support)
o Do you want this to be a working committee with members that have time to contribute, or a committee of upper-level executives that may send substitutes, but have the authority to make decisions regarding support of the program?
o Identify key supporters/alumni/allies that understand what you need to create and maintain a high-quality RMI program, and would help identify candidates for an advisory committee
o Allow members to send a senior delegate to represent them when they can’t attend (but don’t encourage the sending of substitutes – you want their personal involvement, especially in the development years)
o Consider a “renewable term” (perhaps 1, 2, or 3 years; staggered so renewal of all members doesn’t occur at same time) – making it easier to allow less active or less interested members to drop-off without having to ask them to drop-off, giving the committee more structure, and supporting the importance of the committee and its mission
o Meet 2 to 4 times per year (more frequently in the program development years)
ü Create a student organization to increase internship, scholarship, networking, leadership, and recruiting opportunities
o Affiliate with the Gamma Iota Sigma, the only international risk management, insurance, and actuarial science collegiate society (a member of the Professional Fraternity Association). This requires:
§ Support of your administration
§ Recognition as an official campus student organization
§ Interested and supportive faculty advisor
§ 10 or more students/potential members
§ A per student lifetime membership fee (currently $30) and annual per student renewal fee (currently $5)
§ A chapter charter fee (currently $1,500 - industry supporters are often willing to sponsor this; includes ceremony & large banner)
§ Local insurance and risk management community support
ü Recruit faculty through the American Risk and Insurance Association (the trade association for RMI academics)
o Especially if a Ph.D. is needed for accreditation (AACSB)
o Encourage faculty participation in ARIA (networking, research presentations)
o A full-time RMI faculty member will help attract students – the full-time faculty member is more accessible to students, and more likely to be a strong advisor for the student organization
ü Library and Technology Resources
o Recommend subscriptions to Business Insurance, National Underwriter, and Best’s Aggregates and Averages, Best’s Key Rating Guide, Best’s Underwriting Guide, online data from NAIC
o Insurer annual reports, preferably NAIC Annual Convention Blanks (ask insurers to add you to their list for their reports)
o Computer lab for an online testing site if professional designations are encouraged
ü Budget(s) should/could include:
o The cost of faculty (full-time with benefits or part-time)
o Office and supply expense
o Luncheon meetings for advisory committee
o Membership in trade associations such as ARIA and RIMS
o One or two conferences per year
o Advisors are strongly encouraged to attend the Gamma Iota Sigma conference with their students each fall
o ARIA, RIMS, CPCU, NAIFA, and NAPSLO provide important professional development and networking opportunities
o The Gamma Iota Sigma chartering fee
o Subscriptions and publications
o Marketing the program:
§ Website and social media
§ Brochures/flyers for admissions recruiters
§ Press releases to insurance and risk management periodicals
§ Advertisements in insurance and risk management periodicals?
§ Travel to speak to insurance and risk management organizations about the new program?
§ Exhibit at trade shows (state insurance agents association, insurer association, RIMS annual, CPCU annual, NAIFA annual)?
Share this budget with your development office and advisory committee; the insurance community will often sponsor some of these expenses or provide in-kind contributions, e.g. high-quality brochure printing (be sure to report these to your development office so the service provider receives the appropriate receipt and recognition).
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