Australian College of Theology Office Covid-19 Response Plan

ACT response

All the information contained in this response section and the finances section will also be distributed to colleges directly.

The ACT is in the process of reopening its Sydney office (Level 5, 33 York Street). From Monday 6 July 2020 onwards there will be a limited staff presence in the ACT Office during office hours (8:30-4:30 Mon-Thurs, 8:30-4:00 Fri). Only essential visits from external people will be possible at this time. Before seeking to visit the Office, please contact the relevant ACT staff member using their personal email address to determine if your visit is needed, and if it is, to arrange a mutually agreed time. Please do not attend if you are showing any Covid19 symptoms – stay home and get tested. For details on Covid19 and precautions, see https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert.

Contacting us

There has been a minimal presence in the office since the 6th July 2020. If you would like to talk to a specific person, email or web forms on this site are still the preferred contact method.

Community Prayer

Prayer of the Week

We are stopping our other work tasks every day from 10:15-10:30 am (in your local time) to pray for the ACT and wider communities.  We would love our affiliated colleges to join us. We also have a prayer partner for every college, and they will be in contact with their colleges.

Prayer of the Week 2/1/20

We will share some advent resources in the next few weeks which take account of covid.

This week:

5 part series on Peace on Earth from Tear Fund

Last week:

From Church of England for children

 

ACT Prayer Points

(1/12/2020)

Giving thanks for local elimination in Victoria, and almost there in NSW. For borders between all states looking to be open by Christmas.

Pray for all our staff and students during this Advent period, that as we end a difficult year, we are renewed in hope and purpose.

Globally, we continue to pray for Europe and the Americas, whose rates of infection are still very high.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College Prayer Points

Pray for our colleges that they will be able to start thinking through what a changing situation will mean in their particular contexts.

Christ College

Thanks for the great team who have navigated COVID well.

Pray for a smooth return to face to face teaching amidst continuing restrictions.

Pray for a new lecturer who is coming next year.  He is American, and there are lots of visa and COVID issues to navigate.

Pray for a steady stream of enrolments in 2021.

Pray for grace and patience amidst constant challenges.

 

CTCA

  • Thanks to the Lord. The COVID-19 epidemic in Australia continues to ease. Pray that God continues to show mercy and make the situation better and better. Face to face worship resumed on 12 October 2020 at the chapel with online livestream. Pray for God’s guidance.
  • Praise the Lord for giving a suitable property on 15th July 2020 to be the new office premises so that they no longer need to worry about rent increase or office removal. Please pray for the appeal to repay the loan.
  • Thank God for blessing them with a smooth office removal in early October.
  • Thank God that the Online Theological Lecture “Against the Tide of Pandemic — Reflection from Christian Eschatology” was held respectively on 12 September 2020 (Cantonese) with over 150 participants and 3 October 2020 (Mandarin) with over 110 participants.
  • Our Virtual Open Day took place on 10 October 2020 with an attendance of 16 newcomers. Pray for follow-up.
  • As affected by the pandemic, they have decided to postpone this year’s public events, including the graduation ceremony and 20th Anniversary celebration, etc. Pray for the re-arrangement when they appropriately make following the change in the pandemic.
  • Their finance has been hit by a considerable downturn due to the pandemic. They earnestly pray for God’s timely providence.

Mary Andrews College

  • Give thanks and pray for MAC’s new college Principal, Rev. Dr Katy Smith, who started in the role in mid-March.
  • Pray for our lecturers and students as they adjust to teaching and attending classes online via Zoom during COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
  • Pray for other college staff working from home or taking leave while our office is closed temporarily.
  • Pray for those of our students who may be struggling to maintain momentum with their studies and assignments in the middle of all of the other changes brought on by this pandemic.
  • Pray for students who are finding it difficult to not have access to college library while our office is closed and classes taught online temporarily.
  • Pray for students who are struggling with technology and internet access required for classes online.
  • Pray for students who have their own and their family members’ pre-existing health conditions that still need to be managed and treated in the middle of this pandemic (and who may also therefore be at greater risk if they caught COVID-19).

Morling

  • • Please continue to pray that they will make wise and responsible decisions as they oversee the implementation of the COVIDsafe teaching plan, and that God will protect them and the wider community from further propagation of the virus. They are grateful for the opportunity they have at the moment to interact with some students face to face on the campus, but conscious of how precarious the public health situation in NSW is at the moment.
    • Please continue to pray for them and for the team at Vose as they work through all of the decisions involved in implementing the merger plan for 2021 and make strategic decisions for 2021-25.

PTCV

Pray as they start their Chinese diploma level course and for Felix Chung as he leads this.

Pray for staff, as a result of assessment tasks pushed out due to COVID, they have not had much a break between the semesters.

Pray for Peter Hastie as he returns from sabbatical.

QTC

Pray for Andrew Bain as he is acting principal for S2, while Gary is on study leave.

Praise for their numbers for S2, which are up from S1.

RTC

  • Thank God for the encouraging student growth we have had this year.
  • Praise God for the desire our students have to grow in their faith and their usefulness to God. Pray RTC may be effective in preparing many faithful gospel workers.
  • Ask the Lord to lead many more to take up study at the RTC in 2020.
  • Praise God for the capable and united staff team he has blessed us with.
  • Pray that RTC lecturers would be faithful and godly in their teaching and ministry.
  • Praise God for his provisions for 64 years of RTC’s ministry.
  • Thank God for the events RTC is able to hold each year and pray they may be a great help and encouragement to those who come.
  • Pray that God would provide for the financial needs of the College.
  • Pray that RTC’s ministries, Barkley Hall and The Way discipleship program, would bear gospel fruit

Ridley

Pray for staff and students coping with extended restrictions in Victoria and having to readjust expectations again..

Give thanks for the great response to Mike Bird’s Leon Morris lecture with about 400 attending online.

Pray that they will be able to care for their community and also make the most of opportunities that arise to be witnesses for Christ.

Vose

Pray for staff at Vose Seminary as they face two significant changes and one challenge common to all ACT.

  • Vose which is part of Baptist Churches WA, like all BCWA staff have had their hours cut by 20% due to Covid but still have the same amount of work to do.
  • Vose is exploring a merger with Morling. As with any change, a source of uncertainty and thus anxiety for those concerned.
  • Like all colleges, Vose is working hard at improving their enrolments for semester 2.

Please send any prayer points to either your college prayer partner or to Megan Powell du Toit. mpowelldutoit@actheology.edu.au

Direction for ACT meetings and staff

  1. Attending meetings in person to be avoided where possible
  2. All ACT meetings (Board of Directors, Audit and Risk Management Committee, Academic Board and its committees, the ACT Annual General Meeting, and ACT staff meetings) to be undertaken in virtual mode rather than face-to-face
  3. No domestic or international travel for any ACT purpose (except with the express permission of the Acting Dean)
  4. ACT staff to work from home where feasible, except for senior staff as directed by the Acting Dean.

Resources for Learning and Teaching

We have created a folder accessible by ACT faculty, with resources for teaching and learning during this time

It can be found here. You will need to log in with your staff ID.

 

Important information

National Coronavirus Hotline: 1800 020 080

For general advice about COVID-19 including how to protect yourself and others, symptoms, and when to get tested, visit the Australian Government’s Department of Health.

Factsheets for tertiary students and staff are regularly updated by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

For information and responses particular to independent higher education providers, please also see IHEA.edu.au (ACT is part of the IHEA network and our response has been informed by their publications).

Finance

Graduation documents

Certified transcripts

  • All graduates will be sent a physical certified transcript on conferral of their award.
  • Students who request a certified transcript while the office is closed will, by default, have their transcript digitally encrypted and sent to them electronically. Physical transcripts can be distributed by the Registrar where required but will take some time to produce and post.

Australian Higher Education Graduation Statements

  • All graduates will be sent a physical certified Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS) on conferral of their award.
  • Students who request a reissue of their AHEGS while the office is closed will, by default, have their AHEGS digitally encrypted and sent to them electronically. Physical copies can be distributed by the Registrar where required but will take some time to produce and post.

Testamurs

The production and delivery of testamurs has been delayed during 2020 due to circumstances arising from the Coronavirus. Testamurs are still being produced but will take longer than usual to reach colleges/graduates.
This delay is due to the decreased staff presence in the ACT office. Before being distributed, testamurs must be produced by the ACT’s AcademicServices team, physically signed by the ACT dean, sent to the graduate’s primary sponsoring college for co-signing, and then physically presented to the graduate.

All graduates, and their current or potential employers, and any education institution, can contact ACT to verify that a graduate has been issued with a particular qualification. We understand that this is not ideal, but is a temporary measure to maintain the ability to verify the conferral of qualifications while at the same time protecting our staff. Graduates can contact ACT to verify their awards by choosing the “student enquiry” option on the contact page.

Event announcements

  • The ACT Ltd Members’ AGM on 5th May 2020 has been re-cast as a hybrid meeting and members will be sent an e-invitation to attend via videoconference.
  • The ACT Consortium Conference and Principals’ Day 2020 which was due to be held 12-13th June 2020 in Sydney, has been postponed to a later date in 2020 (exact date TBA).
  • Being and Belonging: Disability, Church, and Community, our conference which was due to be held on 16-17 April 2020, has been postponed.
  • The Registrars’ Conference, which was to be held on 3 April 2020, is changing format. A series of interactive video conferences will be held with ACT Registrars to facilitate professional development and provide updates and information for ACT college Registrars.
  • All upcoming scheduled meetings of the Academic Board, Coursework Committee, and Research & Research Studies Committees will be held by Zoom video conference.

Higher Degree by Research Candidates

As the COVID-19 crisis has evolved the ACT has been carefully monitoring University responses to the disruption of HDR candidates’ research. At the meeting of the Research and Research Studies Committee on 17 April 2020 it was decided to extend all ACT HDR candidates’ course end date by one semester. This has been communicated to all HDR students and colleges. We are thankful for the support by supervisors for students facing disruptions both to research and to life in general. We continue to assess how best to support research and our research students within this new and changing environment.