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.

Update 31/8/2021: due to the Sydney outbreak, the ACT office is closed and staff are working from home until further notice.

Once the current restrictions are lifted, there will be some limited staff presence in the ACT Office during office hours. Only essential visits will be possible at that time. Before attempting to visit the Office, please contact the relevant ACT staff member by email 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

While staff presence in the office continues to be affected by COVID, if you would like to talk to a specific person, either email or the web forms on this site are the preferred contact method.

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 Dean)
  4. ACT staff will be working from home until further notice.

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

  • Update 31/8/2021 – During the current Sydney lockdown, certified documents for graduates are unable to be produced in bulk. Documents will be created as soon as possible. Graduates who require certification of their completed qualification urgently for employment or further study are encouraged to contact the ACT Registrar to discuss your circumstances.
  • 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

  • Update 31/8/2021 – During the current Sydney lockdown, certified documents for graduates are unable to be produced in bulk. Documents will be created as soon as possible. Graduates who require certification of their completed qualification urgently for employment or further study are encouraged to contact the ACT Registrar to discuss your circumstances.
  • 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

Update 31/8/2021 – During the current Sydney lockdown, certified documents for graduates are unable to be produced in bulk. Documents will be created as soon as possible. Graduates who require certification of their completed qualification urgently for employment or further study are encouraged to contact the ACT Registrar to discuss your circumstances.

The production and delivery of testamurs has been delayed due to circumstances arising from the Coronavirus.

This delay is due to the decreased staff presence in the ACT office. Before being distributed, testamurs must be produced by the ACT’s Academic Services 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.