The College welcomed about 10,000 new teachers to its ranks in 2002. Membership reached 186,676 – a growth of about 13 per cent since its establishment in 1997.

To these new teachers, the College no doubt seems a fixture in the education system but, in fact, the institution and its mandate–like so many of our members – are relatively new to the education sector.

Youth aside, the College continues to fulfil its responsibility to Ontarians that students will be taught by qualified professionals and in an ethical manner.

And, just as committed teachers are more to their students than an authority figure at the front of the classroom, the College offers its members and the public much more than regulation and certification.

In 2002, the College undertook various initiatives including promotion of the standards of practice and ethical standards, development of electronic communications with its members and expansion of options available to members for the Professional Learning Program (PLP).

Preparations for an expanded accreditation function (covering new pre-service and in-service teacher education programs), updates to guidelines for in-service teacher education and advising on appropriate conduct with students were other significant areas of activity for the College last year.

Professional Advisory

The College issued its first professional advisory in 2002. The advisory on Professional Misconduct Related to Sexual Abuse and Sexual Misconduct clarifies for College members the legal, ethical and professional parameters that govern their behaviour towards and their responsibilities for students.

Policy Advice

The College continued to meet regularly with the Minister of Education to discuss a wide variety of issues including education-related regulations in development, the Ontario Teachers Qualifying Test and Professional Learning Program.

A long-awaited regulation that assigned authority to the College for the accreditation of new and existing pre-service and in-service teacher education programs came into effect in December. The authority to accredit programs, provides the College with unique role as a self-regulating professional body and will greatly contribute to its ability to maintain the quality and accessibility of teacher training in Ontario.

The Executive Committee also held regular consultations with the Ministry of Education concerning Regulation 184/97. The College provided advice concerning this Teachers’ Qualifications regulation and suggested improvements to implementation of the Ontario Teacher Qualifying Test.

Addressing Teacher Shortages

The recruitment and retention of teachers in the numbers that our education system requires remains a high priority issue at the College. Solutions are pursued through various means including research, consultations, working groups and a Ministry of Education task force.

Finance

Fiscal year 2002 was a significant one for the College Finance Committee as it faced the challenge of a newly legislated responsibility – the implementation and management of the Professional Learning Program (PLP) – in relation to a previously approved budget that had not allocated resources for this new program.

"The Finance Committee works diligently to ensure that the College’s financial resources are employed effectively on behalf of its members," says Karl Dean, chair of the Finance Committee. "In 2002, in our review of the budget, the committee tried to meet the needs of the College while recognizing the pressures presented by the Professional Learning Program."

Increased management scrutiny in 2002 reduced expenditures below budget by $462,000 in Investigations and Hearings. Costs, which had been rising steadily in recent years, levelled off and finally decreased by the end of 2002.

On the other side of the ledger, the need for PLP funding led to a first in the College’s history: revenues, usually drawn exclusively from membership fees and Professionally Speaking advertising, were supplemented by government funding of $8 million, including capital expenditures, over 2001 and 2002.

While the additional funding would not be enough to cover the 2002 shortfall on its own, when combined with expenditure reductions, the College had come remarkably close to its original budget plan.

Finally, higher than projected revenues – primarily attributable to the fact that 6,200 more teachers than forecast joined the College in 2002 – brightened the financial picture. Increased public awareness of the teacher shortage along with increases in spaces in Ontario and neighbouring faculties of education have no doubt contributed to this growth in the College’s membership rolls.

The original budget plan along with revenue increases and expenditure reductions would have produced a surplus of $2.223 million. $1.463 million of this was applied to PLP implementation costs not covered by the government grant, leaving an overall surplus of $760,000 for the year.

Ontario College of Teachers
Operating Results
For the year ended December 31, 2002

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