check
Diversity Policy For The Hebrew University in Jerusalem | Diversity and Inclusion The Hebrew University

Diversity Policy For The Hebrew University in Jerusalem

The Committee for examining diversity policy

The Committee’s Goals

The committee for examining diversified and culturally pluralistic policy at the Hebrew University was established in the context of the “Israeli Hope” program, initiated by the State’s president.  The committee is authorized to propose policies to the University in the following areas:

  • A vision for the University on diversity;
  • Advancing a diversity of individuals among the student body, faculty members, and administrative staff;
  • University regulations for advancing cultural, religious, and linguistic diversity
  • Advancing academic excellence within the greater student body;
  • Activities to prevent identity-based discrimination and violence (based on group identity);
  • Advancing cross-cultural contact among students;
  • Increasing the range of courses on the subject of Israeli society, on the range of communities comprising it;
  • Additional  topics critical for advancing multi-culturalism at the Hebrew University.

Definitions: What we mean by 'Diversity'?

Diversity is reflected in many ways, as each individual is different from her and his peers. In a discussion on diversity we intend the broad spectrum of groups in Israeli society, and in particular those whose who are under-represented today at the University, in terms of population, content, presence and influence.  Populations insufficiently represented in the University include: Palestinian-Arabs, First generation to higher education, Haredim, New Immigrants, Native Ethiopians, and the Poor.  In certain disciplines, women are missing as well.

Aims and Vision

The Hebrew University perceives diversity as a condition for academic excellence, and for realizing the human potential of Israeli society.  The University strives to nurture a community that expresses a broad range of stances, world views, and cultures.  We endeavor to allow each student to feel welcome and protected, and to flourish academically, personally, and socially.  We aspire to increase our potential to educate and enrich campus life through a plurality of life experiences, and perspectives.  The University has a central social role in providing accessibility to higher education to the variegated groups in Israeli society, in bridging social and economic gaps, and promoting social mobility.  The University has an additional educational motive in relation to its students:  In order to train our students in terms of citizenship and leadership in a pluralistic society, we endeavor to furnish them we opportunities to meet, and become acquainted with a wide range of viewpoints, and world outlooks.

The Hebrew University is committed to excellency in academics and research.  For this reason, the University strives to achieve a balanced correlation between populations of each group in Israeli society and their representation in the University as students, faculty and staff.  The University is committed to creating a safe academic environment free from discrimination and harassment based on affiliations of community, nationality, congregation, religion or sexual orientation of its students and faculty members.

Committee Recommendations

Promoting a Diverse and Inclusive Campus

A diverse and inclusive campus is one in which each individual feels themselves a part of the institution.  A sense of belonging is a condition for personal realization and self-expression.  The University will act in a manner enabling its community members to feel free to actualize their individual potential, as well as that of their community.

  1. Language -  Language is a vital component of identity.The University will promote prevalence of Arabic in public realms of campus with Arabic signposts.Internet sites of the University, and those of academic units will be translated into Arabic and will actively operate in three languages.Central letters and notices will be translated into Arabic and English.

  2. Multicultural Events - There will be social, academic and cultural events that lend representation to the variety of communities.The University will encourage multi-cultural discourse.

  3. Communications with University Administration - Owing to a lack of suitable representation of students belonging to minority groups, the University’s president, rector and dean will be meeting groups of representatives of student minorities in systematic way.

  4. Encouraging Heterogeneous Study Groups - Each department will actively encourage, and create frameworks to cross-cultural interactions.Structures will be proposed for building meaningful interaction, as part of academic study:Trainings, assignments, labs, and joint enterprises.

  5. Increasing Awareness on Diversity among Faculty and Academic Administration - Faculty members and academic administrators will participate in workshops and trainings on the topic of opportunities and various challenges of diversity, and a deepened acquaintance of various groups in Israeli society.

  6. Diversity in the Academic Curriculum - It is advisable to conduct student to intellectual structures that will expose them to a range of viewpoints and help them contend with difference.Diversity in content is necessary as well to enable all students to find themselves within their academic program.The curriculum must furnish students with opportunities to explore and study relevant topics on identity, culture, and diversity.To advance a variety of viewpoints lecturers will take action to provide diversified curriculum, and the University will encourage the development and instruction of such courses.

  7. A House of Prayer - The University will designate a house of prayer for individuals of each religion.This space with be open, accessible and inviting.

Student Support: Realizing the Personal Potential of Each Stude

Students from under-represented groups often experience feelings of isolation and loneliness at the Hebrew University.  Many of them tend to have a more passive academic experience.  They refrain from, or are intimidated by active participation in discussion and interaction with faculty and peers.  Because of the separate nature of residency in Israel, and of the Israeli educational system, students from minority groups that attend the University transition from a relatively homogenous community, that was supportive and protective, and in which they were part of a majority - to a realm wherein they are the minority.  For many the experience of belonging to a minority is new, and it involves challenges that are personal, psychological, social, and political.  Leading causes for dropping out of University include: Immigration (“olim”), nationality (Arab), socio-economic status (students situated at low socio-economic levels), and periphery.  All these are communities of students from groups that are under-represented from the outset.

Each academic unit will appoint a faculty member responsible to apply these recommendations, and be in contact with students from under-represented groups. These recommendations also include steps being taken currently by the dean of students, in order to ensure they will be adopted by the University as policy, and exist in the future as well (in the event the funding of The Council for Higher Education ends), and to secure active support and cooperation of each academic unit.

Organization - At the start of the year each academic unit will receive a list of names, and the contact information of all its students from under-represented groups, in every degree. 

Personal Contact with a Faculty Member - Students report that the most substantial step in alleviating the experience of isolation is having a connection with a faculty member (“someone noticed me”).  To ensure this, faculty members will be appointed as mentors for individuals or groups of students.

Student Forum - To improve communication and build relations founded on trust and reciprocity we advise that academic units create a joint forum that has a representation of students from minority groups.  The head of the unit will meet with the forum several times over the course of the year, to hear about their needs and challenges.  The forum will initiate academic and social programs for students of its unit.

A Designated Faculty Member - Each unit will appoint a faculty member who will be responsible for initiating contact with the students over the course of the academic year.  Experience teaches that a pro-active, initiating approach is required for students of under-represented groups.  Often the students are not fluent in ‘academic language’ and refrain from taking advantage of the resources the University renders to them.  In many cases these are students accustomed to excelling in their communities, and not used to asking for help and support.  Each unit will formulate procedures for initiated contact to students of the academic year, particularly during crossroads, such as determining a schedule, exams, receiving grades, etc.

Academic and Social Support - The academic unit, along with relevant units from the Dean of Students, will design a support plan, suitable and relevant to the given field.  The support plan can include: Academic tutors, targeted courses for first year students (an introduction to introductions), skill courses for academic reading and writing, a summer preparation towards first year, preparation towards exams. 

Encouragement for Continuing Academic Study - The academic unit will actively encourage outstanding students of the minority groups to continue towards second and third degrees.  Scholarships will be offered to the students from minority groups, and attention will be paid to diversity among doctoral students, teaching assistants, and teaching assistants.

 

Human Diversity: Increasing Diversity among Faculty and Student

The University strives to be diversified and accessible to all groups of Israeli society.  We aspire to allow under-represented groups blend in to the University.  Increasing human diversity in the University requires proactive initiative.  It is not sufficient to open the door to those who have not yet entered.  Systematic steps and initiatives must be adopted that render the University accessible to faculty and students of under-represented groups.  This point of departure is critical, and guides the committee in formulating its conclusions on various topics. 

Expanding Diversity among Faculty - Having a variegated faculty is a prioritized and central aim of the University.  A diversified faculty promises richness of thought, research, and ideas.  A diversified faculty also contributes to the students’ sense of belonging and may also help expand diversity among the students.  Efforts will be made to expand diversity among junior academic faculty (appointments of research assistants and teaching assistants).  Lecturers will initiate turning to outstanding students from various groups to invite them to apply for these positions.

As for senior faculty members, the University recently adopted the conclusions of The Committee for Promoting the Admission of Researchers into the University:  Gender and Diversity.  We stress the importance of applying its recommendations.  The committee’s key proposals are:

  1. Documentation and Goals - Each academic unit will document its current state on every academic level, and will determine its goals for absorbing diversified researchers.  Each unit will fix working procedures whose target is to increase female representation and social diversity among faculty members, bearing in mind the standard steps for admitting and advancing faculty. 
  2. Active Recruitment of Candidates - Calls for application will be drafted, in a flexible and egalitarian manner, and with a broad description of the research disciplines sought after. Information about senior researchers - doctoral and post-doctoral candidates - from minority groups will be concentrated, and contact initiated with them.  Additional methods will be devised for active recruitment of candidates belonging to under-represented groups.
  3. Structuring the Absorption Process - Research shows that the decision-making process, which includes letters of recommendation, is influenced by implicit bias towards gender, age, origin, and the like.  It is therefore necessary to structure the recruitment process in a way that minimizes such tendencies during the steps of the recruitment committees of the University’s institutes and departments.
  4. Qualifications - Members of recruitment committees will undergo a training on the subject of implicit bias in the process of determining appointments and promotions, which will be made available at various campuses.

II. Expanding Diversity among  Administrative Staff

Administrative staff at the University come from the wide range of groups comprising Israeli society, however to date there is not a fitting representation of staff from the Arab community.  We therefore advise increasing the number of Arab administrative staff, particularly for roles that include contact with students.

III.  Expanding Diversity among Students

The key to increasing diversity among students is to support current students, and ensure that the University is a place that is inviting, pleasant, and free from discrimination, so that all its students feel wanted and safe.  In this paragraph, we will focus on the processes of recruitment and rendering the University accessible to under-represented groups.  Diversity is significant and critical in every field of study.  It is vital not to create trackways into particular fields.  Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize diversity in fields with glaring under-representations.  Fundamentally, disciplines ought to endeavor to expand diversity in programs for exceptional students, and participation in attractive programs such as exchange-students, journals, and apprenticeships.  These are far more accessible to those belonging to certain social networks.  Therefore, a proactive approach is necessary to invite students from under-represented communities, and render information on such programs available to them.

  1. Collecting Information - To plan and establish set goals relating to diversity, it is requisite to gather information on both admitted and potential candidates.  Information must be gathered on the department and faculty levels.  For this purpose, students will be invited to submit a detailed form, voluntarily, that includes a paragraph explaining it is intended to promote diversity.
  2.  Reviewing Criteria of Acceptance - This includes reviewing the number of students from under-represented groups who were interested in enrolling, but were rejected.  Based on this data, each unit will determine whether to adjust its conditions for admission, and recruit candidates from under-represented groups who meet the standard, or act to ensure the materialization and enrollment of accepted candidates.
  3. Targeted Marketing to Under-Represented Communities
  4. Creating a Scholarship Database - Targeted to students from under-represented minorities (beyond scholarships based on needs).  Special emphasis will be placed on scholarships for students in advanced degree programs.
  5. Encouraging and Supporting Students of Minority Groups to Continue to Advanced Degrees - Encouraging students to continue their studies towards higher degrees, aid with finding suitable scholarships, advancing students of minority groups to postdoctoral studies, maintaining a consistent connection with doctoral students, and encouraging them to apply for academic appointments.
  6. Registration Process - The University will review its registration process to ensure it is accessible, and clear.  We strongly emphasize the importance of translating the registration and admissions process into Arabic.
  7. Designated Contact Person - To provide an address for candidates from under-represented communities during the registration process (for all degrees).
  8. Encouraging Enrollment to the University - Will form an active connection with each accepted candidate to offer support during the registration process and help her or him to make decisions.  Approaching candidates from Arab sector will be done in Arabic.  There will be cooperation among departments so that names of strong candidates from under-represented groups who are not admitted, will be referred to a different department. 

Expanding the number of students from minority groups is a combined process that involves initiated action, adjusting admission criteria, and steps adopted over the study period to improve both the experience and achievements of students from minority groups.  It is the latter component that will ultimately lead to a continued growth in demand for the University among these groups.

Procedures Relating to Holidays and Fasts

a. In addition to current holidays, there will not be studies at the University for one day during the Eid al-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice), one day during Eid al Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast), and on Easter.

b. Students belonging to religions listed below will be permitted to miss class during their festival days, in compliance with specific dates that will be circulated each year by the academic secretariat.  These will not be considered among the permitted days of absence (but are in addition to them).  Exams will not be held on these days.

c.  Students belonging to religions listed below that are absent from an exam beginning after 12:00pm on a fast day listed below are entitled to write the exam on an additional timing.

d.  On fast days, the Institute will ensure that either mo-ed alef, or mo-ed beit takes place in morning (before noon). 

e.  Assignment deadlines that fall on holidays will be submitted by students shortly after the holiday (in coordination with the lecturer).

f.  Ceremonies will not be held on holidays, and holiday eves.

Treating Discrimination/Harassment Based on Communal Affiliation

The Hebrew University places extreme importance on respecting each individual and each identity group.  The University considers harassment based on group affiliation extremely severe.  Harassment of this nature involves any harmful or disrespectful behavior, verbal or physical, that injures someone on the bases of her or his group affiliation.  Verbal harassment can be in writing or spoken, and can include behavior towards a specific person, or an unsuitable attitude, or reference towards a group through jest, remarks, expression, digital media, or physical injury.

The University will publish rules that define conduct that is discriminatory, biased, or harmful, as well as the disciplinary measures that will be taken in response to it.  Students who sense they have been injured or harassed on the basis of their group identify will turn to a designated representative, for student complaints, via a special internet form.

Encouraging Acceptable and Respectful Discourse

The University is a community of persons with diversified opinions, views, beliefs, and religions.  Recognizing these differences and tolerance towards them is a fundamental principle of the University.  The University will ensure that students feel comfortable dressing as they please, and according to their customs, as well as to express their view, and share their life story.

  1. It is the University’s obligation to generate conditions that allow all members of its community - staff and students – to express their views, outlooks and beliefs through free discourse.
  2. As an institution for higher education, the University recognizes the principle of freedom of expression as a fundamental condition for its existence.  Therefore, it ensures and cultivates freedom of expression in academic, cultural, social, and public (within its campuses) activity, all within the framework of the country’s laws.   
  3. regulations for public activity will be in accordance with the stipulations in the University’s regulations for public activity, as it appears on the website of the Dean of Students.