Membership Services Answers Frequently Asked Questions
When calling Membership Services, please have your College registration number or Social Insurance Number at hand to help us serve you better.

Why are you raising my annual membership fee?
After five years without any increase, the annual membership fee will go up $14 effective January 1, 2002. This was the minimum increase we could make and still be sure there would be sufficient reserves if the College encounters unexpected expenses.
The increase — lower than originally proposed — came after a very thorough budget review that showed this was the lowest possible increase that would meet current needs and keep up with needs for the next three years.
Other fees were also adjusted — some up, some down — after the Finance Committee took a thorough look at the cost of providing the corresponding services.





The College’s financial state-ments show you have an $8 million reserve. Why can’t you use that?

At the end of 2000, the College accounts showed Members’ Equity of $8.6 million. This included a reserve for fee stabilization of $2 million that is going to be mostly used up in 2001 as a result of keeping the fee at $90 for an extra year.
Some people have mistakenly interpreted this to mean that the College has more than $6 million in other cash reserves. But in fact, more than $4 million of this amount are invested in capital assets like computer hardware, furniture and office facilities.
So, at the end of 2001, the College will have cash reserves of about $2.6 million — not enough to run the organization for two months. This level of reserve is barely adequate and well below the level maintained by most professional self-regulatory bodies in Ontario.





How can you justify such an increase for retired, part-time, occasional or supply teachers?

The College membership fee is still the lowest one of all the 36 professional regulatory bodies in the province.
The fee is an annual licensing fee and, like a driver’s licence fee, it does not take your income into account or whether you use the licence regularly or only occasionally.
Also, the costs of recording a teacher on the College register, tracking qualifications and ensuring that work meets the standards of the profession are the same for all teachers, whether full or part-time.




Why is the information about my qualifications available on the Internet? What authority do you have to post this information on the College’s public register?


The Ontario College of Teachers Act says the College must maintain a public register of teachers certified to teach in the province. The information posted on the public register is prescribed in the Act and does not contain personal or confidential information - like the member’s home or work address or phone number. The information includes:

• the member’s name and class of certificate of qualification and registration and any additional qualifications
• the terms, conditions and limitations imposed on a certificate of qualification and registration
• a notation of any revocation, cancellation and suspension of a certificate of qualification and registration
• any information directed by a committee required by the Act
• information that the bylaws prescribe as information to be kept in the register.

The College has provided this information for four years over the phone and in person through our library. Making it available through the web site is the most economical and accessible way for the teaching profession to carry out our democratic responsibilities.
Providing easy access to the information reflects well on the teaching profession’s commitment to openness and public accountability. Several other professional bodies in the province provide registry information on the Internet.
None of this information is private. The fact that members hold Ontario teaching licences — and their qualifications to do so — are a matter of public record.





Why does my maiden name appear on the public register?

 

Tens of thousands of College members have changed their names at some point in their career. Many were certified under a different name than they currently use. The register includes teachers’ names when they were certified because without them, no one — including prospective employers — would be able to verify these teachers’ credentials on the public register.
Like your qualifications, your name change is a matter of public record.





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Ontario College of Teachers
121 Bloor Street East, 6th Floor Toronto  ON M4W 3M5
Phone: 416-961-8800 Toll-free: 1-888-534-2222 Fax: 416-961-8822 
http://www.oct.ca
info@oct.ca