I am writing to inform you of our plans to take the Australian College of Educators into a new era in which we will continue to strive to be a strong voice for the profession and make a tangible contribution to a quality Australian education system.
Over the past three years, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has supported our efforts to reset the College’s financial and organisational position. Unfortunately, despite our efforts and substantial support from ACER, we have not been able to achieve a positive outcome.
The College’s membership has been declining steadily for many years and there is a growing proportion of members who now pay reduced membership fees, meaning it is increasingly difficult to cover running costs.
Meanwhile, the membership’s age profile has been changing, meaning the college is less representative of younger and aspiring educators and educational leaders than it should be.
Regrettably, we believe these trends are unlikely to be reversed under the current model.
However, there is still a clear need for a strong and active voice dedicated to the advancement of the profession and its vital contribution to quality educational outcomes.
We are acting now because, understanding that the College is no longer sustainable in its current form, we want to ensure its continuation as Australia’s premier professional education association relevant to educators today and into the future.
Consequently, we have begun working on plans for a radically reimagined College that is much more accessible to and representative of all educators – including the new generation of members – and which can speak with authority and energy on those issues that make a difference to educators and all stakeholders in the education system. Our current aim is to undertake a process of consultation, design and review during the second half of 2022 and launch the new structure early in 2023.
To ensure we can focus on the significant task of reimagining our 63-year-old organisation, we have decided to pause all current College activities beyond June 30, 2022. This means no scheduled or new events taking place at national or local levels, including awards events, and pausing branch committee and SIG meetings and activities for the remainder of 2022.
In recognition of the pause in activities, we will not be invoicing for membership fees in May and June, as is our usual practice. However, all members and fellows will continue their membership during 2022-23 and are welcome to continue to use their post-nominals.
We hope you share our excitement about the opportunities that this process provides our College. Over the next few months, we will be reaching out to our stakeholders as part of our design process. We will be in touch with you on our progress. In the meantime, we invite you to register to provide feedback.
If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please contact our office at ace@austcolled.edu.au
Regards,
Phil Lambert
President
Australian College of Educators