Dear Students,

We wish you success in the upcoming end-of-semester exams, and would like to update you on the exam period and to preparations for the second semester.

1. Exams: The Hebrew University has prepared for the possibility that we will not be able to hold exams on campus, by establishing alternative assessment methods in many courses. Of the 2,200 semester courses taught in the first semester (plus about 1,000 full-year courses), only about 750 courses will have exams. For the rest of the courses, for which no exams will be held, grades will be determined on the basis of projects and other course assignments

Until we are able to hold exams on campus, almost all exams will be conducted online. A detailed notice regarding how the online exams will be conducted has been sent to you by your academic department. The arrangements balance between respect for privacy and trust in HUJI students, and the need to take supervisory measures to ensure the fairness of the exams and to protect the students' interests. Accordingly, the use of software that blocks browsing of other sites during the exam is used only for exams where a substantive justification was found (about 100 exams). In these cases, the software will be used in a way that avoids invasion of privacy, as stated in a message to students who will be writing exams in which the blocking software will be used. About 95% of the students who are to be tested in these courses have already agreed to install the software. We are continuing to work to obtain permission to hold exams on campus for students who are not able to write exams remotely, due to the lack of appropriate conditions or due to the student’s objection to install the software on his/her computer (for exams in which installing the software is required). We have reason to believe that permission will be obtained in the coming days, even before the exam period. If this hope does not materialize, students will be entitled, if necessary, to a special exam sitting

The Dean of Students offers assistance to students in purchasing auxiliary equipment for conducting online exams, including cameras and net-sticks, and has already provided assistance to hundreds of students. We invite students who require assistance to contact the Dean of Students as soon as possible (details are available on the Dean's website)

The Teaching Policy and Procedures Committee has determined that parents of children up to age 12 who were unable to write an exam on a date on which the educational institution at which their child is studying was closed (and up to a week after the institutions were opened) will be entitled to a special exam make-up date. Furthermore, the Committee has determined that when one of the exam dates for a compulsory course coincides (within 24 hours of the end of the exam) with the date of the exam in another compulsory course, and the student wrote an exam on that date only in the other course, he/she is eligible to write the exam on a special date for the course whose exam they did not take because the exam dates overlapped. The Committee has also expanded accommodations for students with special needs

We wish you great success in your exams! We advise you to create a study group. Preparing for exams by working through exams from previous years is a real necessity, and it is worthwhile to do so in a group. The principle that giving is also receiving is particularly true when it comes to learning

2. Scholarships: The University is continuing to raise funds to provide student aid scholarships. In the coming weeks, we will invite you to submit new applications for scholarships, following donations from generous donors who, out of awareness that you are the future leaders of Israeli society, have chosen to award significant sums to express their support and faith in you. In the coming weeks, you will also receive a refund of half of the security fees you paid (approximately 290 NIS). The refund expresses a symbolic recognition of the financial hardships with which many of you are coping during this trying period, and is part of a broader nationwide arrangement to increase student aid packages.

3. Second Semester: The second semester will begin on Sunday, March 14, 2021. Naturally, we do not yet know with certainty when we will be able to return to routine campus learning. We will announce at least a month before the start of the second semester whether learning until the Passover holiday will take place online or on campus. We highly recommend that you get vaccinated against COVID-19, and of course, we ask that you continue to adhere to social distancing and masking rules and all of the Ministry of Health guidelines, to keep us all healthy and to increase the chance that we can meet in person on campus again soon

We would like to thank the Student Union leadership for their cooperation and efforts in promoting the well-being of HUJI students.

Please do not hesitate to contact the various bodies in your academic department with any questions or requests regarding educational matters. We too are happy to try to help in any way possible, and to receive your feedback and suggestions.

Best Regards,

Prof. Barak Medina, Rector

Prof. Guy Harpaz, Dean of Students