Issue 16
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In
this Issue
Council Approves Lower Membership Fee
The College Council today voted unanimously to lower the 2005 annual membership fee to $104, the fee that members paid in 2002.
"Members have told us that rolling back the membership fee is a priority for them, and the College has responded," said Council Chair Marilyn Laframboise. "When we raised the fee in 2003, we told members it was necessary to cover administrative costs of the PLP. With the end of the program, members also expected to see an end to the higher fee."
The lower fee is part of the 2005 budget, which was approved by Council on September 30.
Over the last two years, the College accumulated excess revenue in the fee stabilization reserve to avoid or minimize future fee increases. The College will operate over the next three years by drawing on those accumulated reserves.
"The Council will need to look carefully at operating requirements when those budgets are being presented and make an up-to-date determination about whether the $104 fee continues to be viable," said Council Chair Marilyn Laframboise. "I can assure you that we will continue to be creative and innovative in carrying out our responsibilities to the teaching profession and to the public interest.
"We certainly hope we will be able to maintain the fee at $104 for three years as we continue to draw down that reserve," she said.
In recent years, the College has added supports for the entry-to-the-profession test and language proficiency, assumed responsibility for accrediting pre-service and in-service teacher education programs, introduced online fee payment, developed online registration for Ontario graduates, initiated annual member and beginning teacher surveys, and created a Members' Area of the College web site that provides members with online services 24 hours a day.
"We have managed these developments within the resources available to us," said Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Doug Wilson. "College staff will continue to look for low-cost ways to respond to emerging needs from our members."
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Many members of the Ontario College of Teachers live in two-or-more teacher households.
If you would like to reduce the number of copies of Professionally Speaking you receive, please let us know.
Forward your request to receive one copy per household to outreach@oct.ca along with:
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