Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Towards the end of the first semester, I want to share with you some important topics on our agenda.

The Public Arena and a Special Session of the Senate

The political and public arena is turbulent, around us and within us. In light of this, last month we sent a letter to the entire university community, presenting our unequivocal commitment to preserve the University as a warm and equal haven for all who come through its gates.

It is important for me to make it very clear: in all our actions, whether within the University, or with other parties, including the government, we are fully and uncompromisingly committed to the principles detailed in one of the founding documents of the Hebrew University, written by Albert Einstein nearly 100 years ago: "A University is a place where the universality of the human spirit manifests itself. Science and investigation recognize as their aim the truth only. It is natural, therefore, that institutions which serve the interests of science should be a factor making for the union of nations and men." (The Mission of Our University).

Regarding the constitutional changes that the government wants to promote in the judicial system: I hear the criticism from among us, that the University administration does not act as it should in condemning the government's actions and does not take active steps involving the entire university community. I also hear other voices. All of them are worried about the situation. The concern of faculty members, and of students, can be clearly heard inside and outside the campuses. I am proud of everyone who makes their voice heard and of faculty members who bring to the public arena their expertise, knowledge, and values that our society so desperately needs; In students who admirably embody the deep connection between education and social responsibility. I am proud that the voices of many of us was heard, and I have no doubt that it will be heard further down the road. The University is first and foremost the people within it—and in this sense the Hebrew University is not silent!

I do not believe that the University administration is competing for the fastest response or the sharpest and most decisive statement. Every move we make, whether made now or at a later stage, requires consideration and responsibility. In addition, from the point of view of the University administration, cooperation with other universities is also needed.

In any case, due to a request from members of the Senate, we will hold a special meeting of the Senate next Wednesday (25/1) at 2:10 p.m. All faculty members are invited to participate.

 

 

New Students

After several years of an increase in the number of new students, culminating in the "Year of the Corona Virus" (2021), in the last two years there is a slight decrease in some units. In general, the numbers have returned to a level similar to that which preceded the outbreak of the pandemic. In the following two charts you can see the data of year 1 in the first and second degrees, in recent years:

 

This trend is a challenge, since as of today our overall number of students is lower than the quota that the Committee for Higher Education allows us. In the current situation where the number of registrants is decreasing, we need to pay more attention to the transition from registration to actually completing studies. We have an academic and social obligation to continue recruiting the best students of all population groups. We must be pro-active, at the levels of departments and institutes. To this end, it is important that we stay in close contact with the candidates and especially those who have received an acceptance notice, but have not yet paid registration fees and then, those who have paid a deposit but have not yet received study forms. In the following diagram, you can see a slight but continuous decrease in the percentage of those who have realized their acceptance for a bachelor’s degree at the Hebrew U. We aim to ensure that many more of those who contacted us and were found suitable will eventually reach the classrooms.

 

 

 

 

Another important goal that we must deal with is strengthening numbers of applicants for a Master degree. A main target audience of the MA programs is our excellent BA students. However, as of today, only about 40% of our master's degree students are our alumni. This is a decrease compared to previous years. At this point I want to address each and every one of you. We, as a university, are making a great effort to increase enrollment in the various graduate programs. These efforts will continue. But in addition to them, we have to remember that we, the faculty members, know best how to identify the BA students who are suitable for further studies. I believe that in many cases a kind word to a student who is about to finish their studies, accompanied by an offer to consider registering for further studies, will not only be more significant in terms of the result, but also more correct in terms of our commitment to the students and the university.

 

First Generation in Academia

According to academic studies conducted around the world and in Israel, parental education is a valid index that significantly predicts access to higher education and success in it. However, although according to the Central Bureau of Statistics data, about 50% of the young people in Israel are first-generation academics (students whose parents have no academic education), their percentage here is much lower: about 20%, and only about half of that in highly competitive academic units. This, in my view, is a significant weak point. The experience we have gained over the years shows that first-generation college students encounter many difficulties that are not adequately addressed, such as barriers to admission, the perception that the Hebrew University is unattainable, financial difficulties and academic and social challenges.

 

 

 

 

Considering this, the Hebrew University adopted a strategic decision to launch a systematic, comprehensive, and focused move for the benefit of first-generation academic students. We have created partnerships with a series of philanthropic foundations, which provide a wide basket of support for these students in the amount of close to NIS 20 million per year. For details, please see our letter to the CHE-VATAT.

 

Teaching Reform

The Standing Committee approved this week a limited reform in teaching, with the goal of starting to implement it in a phased manner in large introductory courses already next school year. The reform is based on several leading principles:

1. Reducing the study groups (or alternatively, adding small exercise groups to a large class)

2. Including elements of learning in groups

3. Including elements of independent learning

4. Including elements of formative assessment

5. Including elements of digital learning

6. Compensation of credits due to an increase in the learning and teaching load (calculation of course credits in a way that reflects the required investment from the lecturer and the students)

See here is the document approved by the standing committee.

 

A Multi-Year Plan

These days we are starting to build a new multi-year plan for the University. The program will be built "from the bottom up" in all academic aspects. That is, we will start by analyzing our needs and abilities in recruiting students for the various units, including in new study programs. Based on this data we can deduce the optimal number of faculty members in each unit. This numerical target and the projected retirements will allow us to build the recruitment forecast for the next six years in each unit. This data will be an important source of information for budget planning. The bulk of our budget is received from VATAT (approximately 1.3 billion NIS per year), and it is affected by the number of students in the various units (each unit has a different budget per student) and our research output (publications, research grants, etc.). In this framework, during the year we will carry out several actions aimed at improving our research outputs - which are very good even today, but there is always room for improvement. We will report on these actions later.

 

New Promotion Regulations Were Approved

After a lengthy process led by Vice-Rector Prof. Lilach Sagiv, an updated promotion procedure was approved at the last Senate meeting.

 

Legal Discussion on the Absorption Basket and Declaration of a Labor Dispute on the Salary Issue

As is known, the salary commissioner at the Treasury instructed the universities to change the admission basket for the new faculty members. The main change is the introduction of differentiation in the amount of payment, depending on the academic field of the new faculty member. Our Academic Faculty Committee claims that we have an agreement on the subject with the salary commissioner, so the demand for change should not be accepted. The National Labor Court sent the parties to negotiate, with the first stage being negotiations between the Academic Faculty Committee and the university administration, with the aim of promoting an agreed solution.

In the salary sector, the coordinating council of the academic staff committees in all universities declared a labor dispute due to the absence of a salary agreement for the past three years. We hope that with the appointment of the new government a new labor agreement will be signed as soon as possible. At the same time, it can be realistically estimated that it will take several months for this to happen.

Towards the end of my first semester as rector, I can say that the position is very challenging and demanding, but also satisfying and enjoyable no less. We have a great University, and it is strong against any storm that threatens to shake it.

Yours, Tamir