College Assumes Responsibility
for Teacher Certification
The College has taken over responsibility for
teacher certification from the Ministry of Education and Training. Holders of all OTCs,
OTQRCs and Letters of Standing issued by the Ministry will be issued new certificates of
registration and qualification.
Teachers who are registered with the College and
whose membership is in good standing will receive a certificate this summer listing all
their qualifications, along with their Certificate of Registration in the College and a
membership card. Members who have questions or who want to bring the record of their
qualifications up to date should contact the College’s Membership Services
Department.
One-stop service for members
The Membership Services Department is the one-stop
shopping window for all member services:
- change of address and personal information
- inquiry service for general College information, fees
information or information about College services
- registration of new members
- fee payments
- assessment of credentials for new graduates and
out-of-province applicants
- qualifications updates
- duplicate documents
- information about accredited faculties of education
- letters of good standing
- verification of membership and qualifications for
employers
- materials such as membership applications,
newsletters, regulations and bylaws
- information on Council and disciplinary panel meeting
times/schedules.
The department’s state-of-the-art call centre
is ready to handle a wide range of requests for information and services, with 12 staff
available to provide bilingual services from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. The
College’s walk-in centre also provides personal service to members, applicants and
employers.
Client Services Manager Marina Brasil says the
College is making a real commitment to providing exceptional service. "The Ontario
College of Teachers is working to be the best self-regulating professional organization in
the country."
She said the staff hope that wider publicity about
their services will encourage teachers to contact the College. "We’re looking
forward to serving our members and we’ve worked hard to make sure it’s as easy
as possible for teachers to get the information they require."
To contact Membership Services:
- call toll-free in Ontario 1-888-534-2222 ext. 330
- in the Toronto area, or outside Ontario, call (416)
961-8800 ext. 330
- e-mail info@oct.ca
- come in person to the 6th floor, 121 Bloor Street
East, Toronto.
Records
Transfer Completed
College staff have completed the transfer of more
than 250,000 teacher records from the Ministry of Education and Training to the Ontario
College of Teachers.
The records, dating back to the 1940s, came from a
variety of sources - paper files, microfiche, mainframes and microcomputers. Most
information will now be stored electronically to allow for the on-screen evaluation of
teachers’ credentials. It will also provide the College with the ability to provide
quick responses to information requests from members and employers.
Members in good standing will now receive a
certificate listing their updated qualifications every year. The first of these annual
certificates will be issued this summer.
Members should check to make sure that the record of
their qualifications is up to date. Members who have questions or comments should contact
the College.
College of Teachers Fee
Matches the Lowest in Ontario
Teachers and nurses pay the lowest fees of all of
Ontario’s 32 self-regulating professions. At $90 a year, the College of Teachers and
the College of Nurses are tied for the lowest membership fees.
Fees for other professional colleges are
substantially higher. The Law Society of Upper Canada’s annual fee is $1871. The
yearly membership fee for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is $675; for
the Institute of Chartered Accountants it’s $593. The Ontario College of Certified
Social Workers annual fee is $284 and members of the College of Psychologists of Ontario
pay $625.
College membership fees are tax-deductible.
College Membership Fees Due This Month:
Boards Will Deduct For Most Teachers
School boards across Ontario will deduct 1997
College membership fees from teachers’ pay cheques during May and June.
The single deduction of $90 will cover members’
fees for the calendar year - January 1 to December 31, 1997. This year’s membership
fee also covers the election period that started in September 1996, in which teachers all
over the province elected the majority of the College’s Governing Council.
If you are required - by law, regulation, job
description, bylaw or resolution of a board of directors - to be a qualified teacher, you
must join the College of Teachers and pay the annual membership fee. The $90 fee, which is
tax-deductible, is the same for all College members, whether they work full or part-time.
Membership fees will be deducted from your pay
cheque if you are:
- a full-time or part-time teacher, academic
supervisory officer, principal, vice-principal or co-ordinator/consultant in a
publicly-funded school
- a long-term occasional teacher who is currently a
salaried employee in a publicly-funded school
- a teacher in a private school where members
contribute to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Payroll deduction will provide about 140,000
teachers and their employers with a simple, worry-free way to ensure that their
professional fees are paid and their memberships are up-to-date. This method of payment
also helps to keep College administrative costs - and membership fees - as low as
possible.
Teachers whose fees are paid will receive a 1997
membership card, a certificate listing their professional qualifications and an income tax
receipt.
Teachers who do not pay their fees through payroll
deduction can use the form at the bottom of this page and mail their cheque for $90, made
out to Ontario College of Teachers, P.O. Box 70471, Station A, Toronto ON M5W 2X5.
Any registered teachers who have not paid their
membership fee by mid-July will be invoiced for their membership fees.
Controller Peter Brown says College staff will work
flat out through the summer so that boards will be able to confirm teachers’
memberships in the College.
In future years, membership fees will be deducted
near the beginning of the calendar year.
Registration fee is $25
Teachers who have already registered with the
College of Teachers - including all employees of publicly-funded schools, who were
automatically registered by their boards - were not required to pay the $25 registration
fee. All new registrants will be required to pay the registration fee.
Ottawa Teacher First Head of College of Teachers
Donna Marie Kennedy, who was elected to the
Governing Council from the separate system, was acclaimed as the first Chair of the
College at the first official meeting of the Council on May 1.
Donna Marie Kennedy |
Kennedy has taught Grades 1 to 9 in
schools in Ottawa, Carleton, Toronto and Maynooth. She is also a special education teacher
and formerly worked with handicapped adults in L’Arche Community. She is currently
president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association - Carleton. The new Chair said that while she believes teachers have done
a good job of shouldering responsibility for the profession in the past, "Our new |
College has been given the unique task of
collective responsibility for our profession, our professional education and for our
professional needs. Our challenge will be to build on the excellent work teachers have
done in Ontario and continue to improve in all these areas."
As Chair, Kennedy will be responsible for presiding
at council meetings and the College’s annual general meeting. She will chair the
Council’s Executive Committee and - along with the Registrar - signs all certificates
of registration and qualification issued by the College.
| John Cruickshank, principal of Marvin
Heights Public School in Mississauga, was elected Vice-Chair of the College. He is a
former instructor for the York University Faculty of Education and was the co-ordinator of
elementary program development for the Ministry of Education’s Independent Learning
Centre. |
John Cruickshank |
See the next issue of Professionally Speaking
for a full report on the first official meeting of the Ontario College of Teachers
Governing Council.
Teachers Elect Majority of College's First Council
Teachers' participation in the election of the
College's first Council reflects an encouraging level of interest in their professional
body.
At 32 per cent, the participation rate in the
February 2, 1997 election was significantly higher than the normal turnout in elections
for other self-regulating professions.
The decision to hold a mail-in ballot in the
College's first election presented some logistical challenges but made it possible for
52,642 teachers across the province to participate in electing the Council.
To receive a copy of the final election results,
please e-mail ps@oct.ca .
