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Tuition for 2007/08
Tuition for 2006/07
Tuition for 2005/06
Tuition in Publicly - Funded Israeli Institutions of Higher Education
Updated April 2007
Since the 1950’s public committees have handled and been responsible for the rate of tuition and payment terms for tuition for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree programs in institutions of higher education. The decisions of these committees obligated only those institutions which were budgeted by the State and did not apply to private institutions for higher education (institutions which were not supported by public funds). Moreover these decisions did not apply to studies toward a doctorate and studies toward a certificate in institutions of higher education.
In addition to dealing with the subject of tuition fees, these public committees also dealt with the subject of student aid projects, which have implications on tuition fees, and the need to form a comprehensive tuition policy.
The most prominent public committees which dealt with the topics of tuition and student aid were the following:
Agranat Committee (1959), Krugman Committee (1966), Bar Niv Committee (1971), Navon Committee (1977), Katsav Committee (1982), Kubersky Committee (1991), Maltz Committee (1996) and the Winograd Committee (2001).
During the period here referred to, the Government intervened only twice in setting tuition fees:
1. From the 1984/85 academic year to 1986/87 the Government intervened in setting tuition through legislation which allowed for collecting a "Study Fee", in addition to arrangements fixed by the Katzav Committee (due to the hyper-inflation that prevailed during that period).
2. From the 1987/88 academic year to 1990/91 the Government determined the level of tuition fees, but not through a public committee.
The majority of public committees were supposed to decide on central issues having to do with the structure of tuition fees, their level and their part in the universities’ budgets, and regarding the arrangements which would determine tuition fees and the methods of updating them.
After a wide ranging discussion of proposals that were raised through the years regarding tuition structure, all the committees which had considered the matter up to now confirmed that there was no place for a differential or graded tuition, and that tuition would be uniform for all fields and at all levels, with support from the public budget, while at the same time expanding student aid projects.
The tuition charged to foreign students or Israeli students who received full or partial funding either in the context of wage agreements or from some other institutional, state, or public source, would be charged 25% more than the basic tuition fee.
In regard to a linkage mechanism for up-dating tuition, an agreed-upon base rate was set (by two committees: Kubersky and Maltz) which would be payable in 6 fixed installments and would be fully linked to the consumer price index.
Following the recommendations of the Maltz Committee a number of arrangements were established that were operated in the institutions of higher education in the academic years from 1996/97 to 2000/01 (inclusive), with the exception of Clause 3 (below) which became operative in institutions beginning with the 1997/98 academic year. It was also determined that at the end of this period, a new public committee would be formed, which would re-examine the topic.
What follows is a summary of the provisions which were determined by the Maltz Committee for Tuition and Student Aid Projects (June 1996):
1. During the period for which the arrangements of the Maltz Committee apply there would be no real rise in tuition fees.
2. Students who pay full tuition in advance by September 15th would be entitled to a 2.5% discount.
3. Payment of tuition for part-time study: rates were determined for part-time students during the standard period of study for a degree, as follows:
Studies for a Bachelor’s Degree
1. A student who is enrolled for 50% or more of the full standard yearly curriculum for his field will pay tuition pro-rated to the portion of his studies that he undertakes.
2. A student who is enrolled for less than 50% of the full curriculum in his field will pay tuition pro-rated to the portion of his studies plus an overhead fee of 10% of the full tuition, which covers additional fixed costs incurred by part-time studies.
3. A student who extends his studies beyond the standard number of years for his field will pay an additional 10% of the tuition over and above the proportional part for his studies.
Studies for a Master’s Degree
1. In order to prevent excessive extension of studies for a Master's Degree, the Committee decided that the tuition which would be charged to a Master's Degree student who chooses to spread his studies over 4 academic years will be pro-rated to the portion of his studies and not less than 50%.
2. A student who has completed all his course-work at the end of 4 years of study and only has to pass his final test or present his thesis will have to pay only 10% of full tuition as an overhead fee. A student who does not complete his course-work by the end of 4 years of study will pay a pro-rated tuition with an additional 10% for overhead.
Additional decisions of the Maltz Committee, regarding, among other things, required payments and optional payments, student aid projects etc., can be found in the Committee Report which was published at the end of its term.
Maltz Committee Recommendations
In May 2000 the then Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak, nominated a public committee with a mandate to gradually reduce tuition payments in institutions of higher education. It was headed by retired Justice Dr. Eliahu Winograd. In accordance with its mandate in the Letter of Appointment, the Committee recommended decreasing tuition fees for a Bachelor’s Degree program by 50% in real, accumulated terms for the years 2001/02 to 2005/06, and these recommendations were adopted by the Government of Israel. In later decisions the Government imposed restrictions on the original decision of the Winograd Committee, so that in fact, tuition was reduced for the period of 2001/02 to 2005/06 at a real, accumulated rate of only 26%, as demonstrated in the following table.
|
Academic Year |
Winograd Committee Recommendation for decreasing tuition* |
Actual decrease in tuition* |
|
Rate of annual decrease |
Accumulated rate of decrease |
Rate of annual decrease |
Accumulated rate of decrease |
|
2001/02 |
14% |
14% |
14% |
14% |
|
2002/03 |
9% |
23% |
3% |
17% |
|
2003/04 |
9% |
32% |
3% |
20% |
|
2004/05 |
9% |
41% |
3% |
23% |
|
2005/06 |
9% |
50% |
3% |
26% |
|
* The decrease is calculated in relation to the tuition which was charged in 2000/01 |
In addition to ways, rates and time schedules to gradually decrease tuition in institutions of higher education, the Committee was asked to discuss other topics, among them: ensuring accessibility to higher education so that one’s income level would not be an obstacle to one who wants to pursue his education in an academic institution.
On January 16, 2001 the Chairman of the Committee, retired Justice Dr. Eliahu Winograd, notified the Prime Minister and the then Minister of Education, of his resignation as Chairman of the Committee with the explanation that there was political interference with the committee’s work. As a result of his resignation, the Committee did not complete its consideration of some of the items on its agenda and so it recommended that all arrangements for a Bachelor’s Degree which had been set by decisions of the Maltz Committee on June 7, 1996, continue to be in effect, unless the Winograd Committee had specifically decided otherwise.
Winograd Committee Recommendations
In December 2006 a committee was appointed to examine the higher education system, headed by Knesset Member and Former Minister of Finance, Mr. Avraham (Beiga) Shochat. As part of the Committee, a sub-committee, headed by Dr. Liora Meridor, was appointed to set levels of tuition and student aid.
The Shochat Committee submitted its recommendation to the Israeli Government in July 2007.