Dear Students,
The date of the opening of the academic year has not yet been finalized, but the University is preparing for it. In this letter we will describe the various aspects of this assessment. Our goal is to provide information, reduce uncertainty as much as possible, and provide an address for inquiries on the various issues.
- We hope that the school year will open in the last week of December. You will be notified about this two weeks in advance. In that case, there will be two semesters of 11 weeks each, the exam period will be shortened, and the academic year will conclude at the end of July.
- The teaching will be frontal.
- The scope of the study material and the scope of assignments and exams will be adapted to the shortened semester. The study materials and the exams will be suitable for about 11 weeks.
- The University will try to accommodate students in general, and reservists in particular, to deal with the academic challenges ahead. Adjustments will be made both in your study courses and in activities provided by the Dean of Students.
Adjustments in Studies
- In each of the study courses, the curriculum will be adapted to the current situation, by reducing the scope of the material taught in each course, and adjusting the assignments and tests to this scope.
- As a general rule, courses will be recorded and the recordings will be available to all students in the course within a few days of the class date.
- All academic departments will work to help reservists at the beginning of the academic year as much as possible. There is a lot of variation between the different study programs, which will require different assessments. Each department will adapt the help provided to the needs of the students in that department.
o Lecturers will prepare asynchronous study materials that will make it easier for students who join the studies at a late stage and will help them complete the lessons they missed. In courses where such materials are not suitable, lecturers or teaching assistants will meet with the students returning from reserve duty and help them complete the study material.
o In courses where a relatively large number of students will begin their studies only during the semester, there will be practice groups that will open relatively late in the semester and in which students who are released from reserve duty at this stage will study. Students who return from reserve duty only at the end of the semester will be able to study as much of the courses as possible in the second semester. These changes will be adapted to the structure of the curriculum and the needs that arise according to the number of students in reserve duty.
o The study programs will provide individual assistance in various ways, such as extra hours, learning centers where students can prepare exercises and receive help from teaching assistants, help from other students in the course, and more - depending on the nature of the studies in the program.
o Reservists will be able to change the courses they are studying even after the end of the change period. They will be able to cancel courses at no cost and will be able to add courses with the faculty’s approval. Student reservists who are released at the beginning of the semester will be able to apply to the committee for partial exemption from tuition fees with a request to cancel courses without cost even after the period of changes.
Exemption from courses:
- BA/BSC students: Students who served at least 50 days are entitled to receive an exemption from a course in the amount of 2 credits even if they started their studies at the beginning of the semester. Students who will be released from reserve duty at least 3 weeks after the beginning of the semester are entitled to receive an exemption from courses in the amount of 4 credits. Students who are released at least 6 weeks after the beginning of the semester are entitled to receive an exemption from courses amounting to 6 credits. The decision on exemptions will be made by the academic units according to the study program and the stage of studies of the student. Please note: this reduction of credits is in addition to recognition of reserve service for credits for social contribution (see below).
- Graduate students: Students who are released from reserve duty at least 3 weeks after the start of the semester are entitled to receive an exemption from courses in the scope of 2 credits. Students who are released at least 6 weeks after the start of the semester are entitled to receive an exemption from courses in the scope of 3 credits. The decision on exemptions will be made in the academic units according to the study program and the phase of the studies of the student.
o Student reservists who served for 50 days or more, or those who were released from the reserve duty at least 3 weeks after the beginning of the semester, may, if they so wish, convert grades in 3 courses to be studied in the 2024 academic year with a "passing" grade if they have successfully met all the course requirements.
Student Dean's Office
- Special support is given to reservists and to students who were personally affected by the war:
o Reservists are not required to pay rent in the university dormitories during the reserve duty period.
o Each reservist will receive a financial grant of 2000 NIS at the beginning of the school year.
o Additional financial support will be provided to students who, due to the war, were evacuated from their homes in the north and south. Details to follow soon.
o Additional financial support will be provided to students who were significantly affected by the war.
o Students who had to return to Israel in the middle of the semester as part of a student exchange are eligible for assistance with return flight costs.
o Psychological Services are expanded to accommodate reservists who would like to receive its support. A significant subsidy will be granted to those students.
o The Accessibility Unit is expanding its services in order to provide academic-emotional support to students who experience emotional-academic difficulties due to the war.
o The Dean of Students will expand the personal mentoring that it operates, for the benefit of students returning from reserve duty and students affected by the war. The system includes individual tutoring according to the students' personal needs, alongside reinforcements that will be made available in the academic units, as detailed above.
o We expanded the eligibility to receive 2 credits for social involvement in addition to reserve duty service. In the current academic year, it will be possible to earn 2 credits for reserve duty service, along with 2 credits previously earned for reserve duty service, or alongside 2 credits earned for social involvement. This is in addition to the reduction of credits for reservists returning at a later stage in the semester (see above).
o We are blessed with a student community that makes extraordinary contributions to the civil effort during the war. Thousands of students have participated. As an expression of our appreciation for this social action, we have expanded the range of organizations through which social involvement can be carried out in exchange for 2 credits. We also provide financial grants to several students who performed exceptional volunteering.
- You are invited to use the various services provided by the Student Dean's Office, both routinely and even more so during this emergency period. They include the Dormitory Unit, Psychological Services, the Financial Aid Unit, the Learning Disabilities Unit, the Accessibility Unit, the Center for the Blind, the Social Involvement Unit, the Equal Opportunities Unit and the Career Center.
- You can contact Guy Harpaz, Dean of Students, at guy.harpaz@mail.huji.ac.il and when necessary at 0506848575 and for reserve duty matters.
- Under the leadership of the Diversity Unit, we are also preparing for the opening of the academic year by trying to alleviate any political-emotional tension that may arise between students due to the war in particular and tensions in Israeli society in general.
We are facing an unprecedented challenge. Together, we will overcome it.
Prof. Guy Harpaz Prof. Lilach Sagiv
Dean of Students Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs