The Council for Higher Education | The Council for Higher Education Law

(1) an institution of higher education, that is not a university, that was accredited in accordance with Sect. 9 and authorized to award to its graduates a recognized degree in one or more of its units, or which has receive a permit in accordance with Sect. 21A;

(2) it maintains at least one track of academic studies for which a university, which is authorized, with the approval of the Council, to award to graduates of the institution a recognized degree, and in which the program of study for a degree exists in full, is responsible; such an institution may include in its activities as well additional tracks of academic studies for which a university is responsible as stated, if the program of studies taking place in these tracks is to the extent of at least 75% of the program of study for a recognized degree.

2. The Council for Higher Education

There is hereby established a Council for Higher Education, the members of which shall be appointed by the President of the State (such Council being hereinafter referred to as "the Council").

3. The Functions Of The Council

The Council is the State institution for matters of higher education in the State, and it shall carry out the functions assigned to it under the Law.

3A. The Council

The Council shall be a body corporate competent in respect of any obligation, right or legal act.

3B. The Council - an Inspected Body

The Council shall be an inspected body, within the meaning of section 9(6) of the State Comptroller Law (Consolidated Version), 5718-1958.

3C. Engagement of Employees and their Terms of Employment

Employees of the Council shall be engaged and appointed by the Council in the same manner as State employees are engaged and appointed, with such modifications as shall be prescribed by regulations. The conditions of employment and remuneration of employees of the Council shall be identical with those of State employees.

3D. Prohibition of Transfer of Property

The Council shall not sell or otherwise dispose of, pledge, or grant a lease of or lend for a period exceeding ten years, any property owned by it, save with the approval of the Minister of Education and Culture. A lease or loan for a period which together with preceding periods exceeds ten years shall also require approval as aforesaid.

3E. The Budget

The budget shall be prepared and presented to the Government for approval in the manner provided by regulations.

3F. Methods of Action and Corporation

For the purposes of sections 3A, 3C and 3D, the Council may act through a committee, from among its members or with the annexation of people who are not from among its members.

4. The Number of Members of the Council

The number of members of the Council shall be prescribed from time to time by the Government upon the recommendation of the Minister of Education and Culture. They shall not be fewer than nineteen and not more than twenty-five, and shall include the Minister of Education and Culture.

4A. The Composition of the Council

(a) The members of the Council shall be proposed to the President of the State by the Government. At least two thirds of them shall be persons of standing in the field of higher education, who have been recommended by the Minister of Education and Culture after consultation with the recognized institutions of higher education and one member shall be the Chairman of the National Union of Israel Students (hereinafter in this paragraph, "the Union") and one member shall be the Chairman of the Israeli Students Organization (hereinafter in this paragraph, "The Organization") . In the Council there shall be suitable representation of all types of institutions of higher education that have been accredited in accordance with sect. 9.

(b) If the Union ceases, or if the Organization ceases to exist, or if they unite into one body, one member of the Council shall be the Chairman of the remaining body or the Chairman of the united body, as the case may be, and one member shall be an additional representative on its behalf.

5. Changes in the Composition of the Council:

(a) Where, during the term of office of any Council, the place of a member of the Council falls vacant from any cause whatsoever, another member shall be appointed in his stead, for the duration of the tenure of that council, in the manner which had been prescribed for the appointment of the member whose place has fallen vacant.

(b) Where a member of the Council is unable to actually serve for a specific period, the Minister of Education and Culture may propose to the President of the State to appoint a substitute for that member for that period.

6. Chairman and Deputy Chairman

The Minister of Education and Culture shall be the Chairman of the Council, and the Council may elect from among its members a Deputy Chairman of the Council.

7. Term of Office of the Council

The term of office of every Council shall be five years from the date of appointment of the members of that Council, provided that the first Council shall hold office for two years only.

8. Procedures

The Council shall itself prescribe its procedure in so far as it is not prescribed by the Law or by regulations.

9. Accreditation

The Council may accredit a particular institution as an institution of higher education on the basis of rules prescribed by it for the accreditation of institutions of higher education, or for types of them, in addition to the requirement of an appropriate scientific standard (such an institution being hereinafter referred to as an "accredited institution"); but those rules shall not limit the freedom of opinion and conscience.

10. Government Approval

A decision of the Council to accredit an institution under section 9 shall require approval by the Government.

11. Refusal to Accredit

Where an institution has applied for accreditation as an institution of higher education and the Council has refused the application, the Minister of Education and Culture, or the institution through him, may bring the application and the decision of the Council before the Government, which may return the same to the Council for reconsideration. The decision of the Council upon reconsideration shall be final.

12. Reconsideration of a Request after Refusal

Where an application for accreditation has been refused by the Government, or where such an application has been refused by the Council upon reconsideration and the Government has approved the refusal, the institution may re-apply to the Council for accreditation after two years or such shorter period as the Government may have fixed in its decision.

13. Certificate of Accreditation

An institution which has been accredited as an institution of higher education shall receive a certificate to such effect from the President of the State; notice of the issue of the certificate shall be published in the official governmental gazette.

14. An Accredited Institution - A Corporation

An accredited institution shall be a corporation and shall be competent to sue and be sued, to acquire, possess and relinquish property, to enter into contracts and to be a party to any legal or other proceeding.

15. Institutional Autonomy

An accredited institution shall be at liberty to conduct its academic and administrative affairs, within the framework of its budget, as it may think fit. In this section, "academic and administrative affairs" includes the determination of a program of research and teaching, the appointment of the authorities of the institution, the appointment and promotion of teachers, the determination of a method of teaching and study, and any other scientific, pedagogic or economic activity.

15A. Comptroller

Sections 3, 4, 8-10, 12, 14B and C, and 24C of the Internal Comptrollers Law 5752-1992, mutatis mutandis, to the auditor of an accredited institution of higher education.

16. Expansion of Institutions and Cooperation Between Them

The Council may, after consultation with the accredited institutions concerned, make proposals for their consolidation, expansion, improvement and mutual cooperation; the Council may also make proposals for the advancement of scientific research and the establishment of further institutions of higher education.

17. Budgets of the Institutions

The Council may make proposals as to the participation of the Government in budgets of accredited institutions.

17A. Criteria for Budgeting

State budgeting for institutions of higher education and academic colleges, in budgeting of which the State participates, shall be according to equal criteria that determine, inter alia, taking into consideration the types of institutions and development plans, instruction and research approved by the Council, a committee from among its members, or the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, as relevant.

18. Withdrawal of Accreditation

The Council may withdraw its accreditation of an accredited institution on the basis of rules prescribed by it for this purpose; but those rules shall not limit the freedom of opinion and conscience.

19. Government Approval for the Withdrawal of Accreditation

A decision of the Council under section 18 shall require the approval of the Government; but the Government shall not approve such a decision until the institution, the accreditation of which has been withdrawn, has been given a reasonable opportunity to plead its case and produce its evidence before the Minister of Education and Culture or a person appointed by him in that behalf; the Government may also return the matter to the Council for reconsideration, and upon its deciding to do so, the provisions of section 11 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

20. Notification of Withdrawal of Accreditation

Where the Government has approved the withdrawal of the accreditation of an accredited institution, it shall notify the President of the State to such effect, and thereafter shall publish a notice to such effect in the official government gazette.

21. Re-application After Withdrawal of Accreditation

An institution, the accreditation of which has been withdrawn, may, after two years of such shorter period as the Government may have fixed, re-apply to the council for accreditation, on the basis of evidence to be produced by the institution that the reasons which prompted the withdrawal of its accreditation no longer exist.

21A. Permit

(a) No person shall open or maintain or advertise the opening or maintenance of an institution not recognized under section 9 which awards or promises to award an academic degree unless such institution has been granted a permit by the Council (hereinafter referred to as a "permit").

(b) For the purposes of this section, it shall be immaterial whether the institution is opened or maintained by an institution of higher education, either as an extension or a branch or otherwise.

(c) The contents of this section notwithstanding, an institution as stated in section 2 according to the definition of "academic college" shall be opened or maintained only with the approval of the Council, according to rules that it shall determine.

21(B) Rules and Conditions for a Permit

(a) The Council shall, after consultation with the Committee on Education and Culture of the Knesset, prescribe rules for the granting of a permit to institutions of higher education, or for types of them. Such rules shall be published in the official government gazette.

(b) The Council may subject the grant of a permit to conditions to be fulfilled by the institution either before or after such grant.

21C. Validity of a Permit

A permit shall be valid for four years. If the institution is not opened within four years from the date of the grant of the permit or is not accredited under section 9 either fully or partly or temporarily or conditionally, the Council may extend the validity of the permit for further periods not in the aggregate exceeding four years.

21D. Government Approval

(a) Where the Council has decided to grant a permit, its decision shall require approval by the Government, and the Government's decision as to the permit shall be final.

(b) The Council shall notify the applicant of a decision under subsection (a) within one year from the date of submission of the application.

21E. Cancellation of a Permit

Where one of the rules or conditions on the basis of which the permit was granted is not longer fulfilled or is infringed, the Council may, after giving the institution an opportunity to be heard, cancel the permit or suspend it for such period as it may prescribe.

21F. Appeal

(a) Where the Council has refused to grant or extend the validity of or has canceled or suspended a permit, the Minister of Education and Culture, or the institution through him, may lodge objection with the Government.

(b) The Government may confirm the decision of the Council or return the matter to it for reconsideration. Where the Government has returned the matter to the Council, the Council shall reconsider it, and its decision upon reconsideration shall require the approval of the Government; the Government's decision shall be final.

21G. Closure Order by a District Court

Where an institution has been opened or is maintained without a permit under Section 21A or without a license as stated in Section 25C, the District Court may, on the application of the Attorney-General, order that it shall be closed at such time and in such manner as the court may prescribe, provided that the closing order shall not come into force before the expiration of thirty days from the date thereof.

21H. Designations that Require Approval

(a) No educational institution shall use one of the following designations: "university", technion, "technological institute", "faculty", "academy", beit sefer gavoa (lit. "high school", i.e. school above the level of a secondary school), michlala academit (academic college), haskala gevoha and hinuch gavoah (both "higher education", the first stressing the intellectual, the second the pedagogic aspect), either separately or in combination with another of them or as an adjectival or nounal adjunct to another designation, either in Hebrew or in a foreign language, unless the institution has been accredited under section 9 or the designation has been given it by Law or it has received approval therefor from the Council for Higher Education.

(b) No educational institution shall use a designation which might be taken to refer to a permit or accreditation or license under this Law unless it has received such a permit or such accreditation, as the case may be.

(c) The Council may, after consultation with the Committee on Education and Culture of the Knesset, prescribe rules for the approval of designations.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, an institution which holds a license as referred to in Section 25C shall be entitled to use one of the names mentioned in subsection (a), provided that it is preceded by the description branch or sub-division.

22. Recognized Degrees

The Council may recognize a particular academic degree as a recognized degree on the basis of rules prescribed by it for the recognition of academic degrees (a degree recognized as aforesaid being hereinafter referred to as a "recognized degree").

23. The Conferment of Recognized Degrees

(a) The Council may empower an accredited institution, on the basis of rules prescribed by it for the empowerment of accredited institutions for the purposes of this section, to confer a recognized degree upon a particular person, or to confer recognized degrees generally, and it may prescribe rules concerning State examinations to be held as a condition for the conferment of a particular recognized degree by a particular accredited institution.

(b) When authorizing an accredited institution to confer a recognized degree, as stated in sub-section (a), the Council shall not discriminate between accredited institutions because of their type.

In this section, "recognized degree" - includes combinations of degrees and their customary abbreviations .

24. Supervision of Conferment of Degrees

The Council may, itself or through a person appointed by it in that behalf, supervise the conferment of recognized degrees, and it may prescribe rules for supervision under this section.

25. Protection of Recognized Degrees

A degree recognized under this Law shall be recognized for the purposes of any other law.

25A. Equality of Degrees

The status of identical recognized degrees conferred by accredited institutions of higher education of different types - is the same.

25B. Aid to Students

(a) In the program of assistance that the State makes available to students in accredited institutions, within the framework of the State Budget Law, criteria will be determined, inter alia, for the preference of students who are permanent residents of areas of national priority as determined by the Government, and of students in institutions of higher education or academic colleges located in these areas;

(b) In this section, "students in accredited institutions" - includes students who are studying for a degree that has been recognized in accordance with section 28A.

25C. Operating License for Institutions which Promise Academic Degrees

No person may open or maintain an institution which confers or undertakes to confer a degree or credit points towards a degree, and shall not advertise the fact of such institution having been opened or of its existence, if the institution has not been granted a certificate of permit pursuant to Section 21A, unless the institution is granted a license by the Council (hereinafter - license).

25D. Rules and Conditions for a License

(a) The Council will grant a license as referred to in Section 25C to an institution (hereinafter - an institution in Israel) which is a branch or sub-division of an institution for higher education which operates in another country (hereinafter - the parent institution).

(b) A branch or sub-division of a parent institution is an institution in respect of which all the following have been fulfilled to the satisfaction of the Council:

(1) The institution in Israel relies and is based on the academic institutions of the parent institution and does not maintain its own appointments committee or academic institutions which lay down policy and prescribe a study program;

(2) The parent institution is recognized as an institution of higher education according to the law which applies in the country in which it operates (hereinafter - the base country), and is authorized according to such law to confer academic degrees, including the degree promised or which are conferred on students of the institution in Israel;

(3) The Council has recognized a certain process of authorization for the award of academic degrees, which is carried out in the base country and in the empowering body of the parent institution;

(4) The tuition conducted by the institution in Israel is recognized by the parent institution in accordance with the law which applies in the base country, and is under the supervision of the parent institution;

(5) All the tuition conducted by the institution in Israel is identical or only slightly different to the tuition conducted in the same field as the parent institution in the base country;

(6) The institution in Israel conducts its tuition through lecturers who -

(a) all hold an academic appointment at the parent institution;

(b) at least 20% of them have their primary post at the aforesaid institution, or have been lecturing there on a permanent basis for a period of not less than four years;

(7) The study program at the institution in Israel, to an extent of at least 30%, is implemented through lecturers who have their primary post at the parent institution;

(8) (a) If the degree which is promised or conferred on students of the institution in Israel is identical or equivalent to a recognized bachelor's degree customarily awarded in Israel at a recognized institution of higher education (hereinafter - bachelor's degree), the scope of the studies for the degree and the duration of the studies shall not be less, or shall be only slightly less, than the scope of the studies and the duration of the studies toward the degree for the aforesaid recognized bachelor's degree customarily awarded in Israel, provided that same shall not be less than six full academic semesters as are practiced in Israel;

(b) If the degree which is promised or awarded to students of the institution in Israel is identical or equivalent to a recognized master's degree customarily awarded in Israel at recognized institutions for higher education (hereinafter - master's degree), the scope of the studies for the degree shall not be less, or shall be only slightly less, than the scope of the studies for the recognized master's degree customarily awarded in Israel;

(c) "Scope of the studies" and "duration of studies" shall mean - either academic studies all of which are carried out at the institution in Israel or at the institution in Israel and at the parent institution jointly;

(d) Notwithstanding the contents of this sub-paragraph in regard to the scope of the studies and the duration of studies, the Council may, in its plenary session and with the approval of the Knesset Education and Culture Committee, prescribe rules and provisions with regard to the recognition of previous post-graduate studies.

(9) (a) If the degree which is promised or awarded to students of the institution in Israel is a bachelor's degree, the institution in Israel shall not accept students for studies except on the strength of an Israeli matriculation certificate ("bagrut"), or an equivalent certificate, but the institution in Israel may, in accordance with the rules of the Council prescribed in regard to institutions for higher education in Israel, exempt students from the requirement;

(b) If the degree promised or awarded to students of the institution in Israel is a master's degree, the institution in Israel may not accept students for studies except on the strength of a bachelor's degree;

(10) The degree promised or awarded to students of the institution in Israel is recognized according to the law which applies in the base country and is identical in all respects to the degree awarded by the parent institution to its graduates in the same study program in the base country;

(11) The institution in Israel does not maintain a study program for a doctor's degree and does not confer or promise that it will confer a doctor's degree, unless it has been recognized for this purpose as an institution for higher education in accordance with Section 9;

(12) The parent institution undertakes to regard graduates of the institution in Israel as qualified for advanced studies according to the same conditions which apply to graduates of the parent institution, and to accept students of the institution in Israel, in the event that the institution ceases to operate, for continued studies toward the degree for which they studied in Israel;

(13) The institution in Israel maintains and conducts the tuition and studies at an appropriate place having suitable conditions, including the means required for ensuring a proper standard of studies.

25E. Cooperation with Institutions for Higher Education

(a) An institution in Israel which is a branch or sub-division of a parent institution shall not cooperate with an institution recognized for higher education or an institution which has received a permit pursuant to this law, unless this has been approved by the Council and on the conditions as approved by it.

(b) The Council may, under such conditions it may prescribe, approve for an institution in Israel which is a branch or sub-division of a parent institution, the use of buildings or other means of tuition of an institution recognized for higher education or of an institution which has received a permit pursuant to this law.

25F. Participation in Budget

The State will not participate in the budget of an institution in Israel which is a branch or sub-division of a parent institution, except on special grounds, with the approval of the Government, in accordance with a recommendation by the Council.

25G. Information and Inspection

The institution in Israel shall present the Council, at any time the Council may so demand, details with regard to its structure and its activities and any other information the Council may demand from it; the Council or a person acting on its behalf shall be entitled to visit the institution in Israel in order to inspect and check that the conditions of the license are being compiled with.

25H. Prescribing of Conditions

(a) The Council shall be entitled to make the grant of a license, as referred to in Section 25C in order to comply with the provisions of Section 25D, subject to conditions, whether the institution in Israel is obliged to fulfill such conditions prior to the grant of the license or subsequent to the license being granted to it.

(b) The provisions of Section 25D shall not prevent an institution in Israel from conducting tuition and holding examinations in the Hebrew or Arabic language, unless the Council is of the opinion that conducting tuition and holding examinations as aforesaid is likely to prejudice the possibility of the parent institution maintaining supervision over the institution in Israel for purposes of complying with the provisions of the aforesaid section.

25I. Temporary License

The Council shall be entitled to grant a temporary license to an institution in Israel, for a period to be fixed by it, which shall not exceed four years, even if the institution does not comply with any of the conditions mentioned in Section 25D, and it shall be entitled to make such license subject to conditions as set forth in Section 25H.

25J. Obligation of Disclosure in Advertisements

An institution which holds a license shall mention in all its advertisements to the public that the degree which will be awarded to students at the end of their studies is an academic degree of the parent institution abroad and is not an Israeli academic degree, and shall indicate the identity of the base country; The manner in which the institution shall indicate that it holds a license from the Council shall be prescribed in rules by the Council, with the approval of the Knesset Education and Culture Committee.

25K. Revocation of Suspension of License

Should any of the conditions of Section 25D or any of the conditions for the grant of the license in accordance with Section 25H or 25I, not be complied with or cease to be complied with, or should the institution breach the provisions of Section 25E, 25G or 25J, the Council shall be entitled to revoke the license or to suspend it for such period as it specifies; the Council shall not decide on the revocation of the license, or on the suspension thereof, until it has given the institution the opportunity of presenting its case and has fixed a reasonable period for rectifying whatever requires to be rectified in order to ensure compliance with the aforesaid conditions or provisions.

25L. Giving of Decision

The Council shall notify the applicant for a license of its decision on his application within one year from the date the application is lodged.

25M. Repeat Application for Grant of License

An institution in Israel whose application for a license has been refused, or in respect of which the license granted to it has been revoked, shall be entitled after the elapse of one year, again to present an application to the Council for the grant of a license, on the strength of evidence it shall produce showing that the grounds which served for the refusal or revocation no longer apply.

25N. Notice Regarding Grant of License, Suspension or Revocation Thereof

Notice of grant of a license, suspension or revocation thereof, shall be published in Reshumot, and the date of the grant of the license, the suspension or revocation thereof, as the case may be, shall be mentioned therein.

25O. Rules for Implementation

The Council may, with the approval of the Knesset Education and Culture Committee, prescribe rules for the implementation of its powers and authorities pursuant to Section 25D to 25M.

25P*. Status of Degree from Institution which Holds a License

A degree awarded to graduates of an institution which holds a license as referred to in Section 25C shall have the same status, for all purposes except employment, the wage scale and rank of the employee, and the conditions of his employment, as the identical degree awarded by the parent institution in the base country, and the grant of the license to the institution in Israel shall not constitute recognition by the Council of the institution in Israel as an institution recognized for higher education, nor shall it constitute any form of authorization to the institution in Israel to grant recognized degrees within the meaning thereof under this law.

26. A person who does any of the following acts shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of one year or a fine:

(1) supplies to or for the Council, in a matter within its competence, any information which he knows to be false;

(2) confers, or assists in the conferment of, a degree without being competent to do so under this Law;

(3) makes himself out to be the holder of a recognized degree conferred upon him under this Law while a degree as aforesaid has not been conferred upon him;

* This paragraph, as formulated in Amendment 12, will not apply to degrees as set out in Paragraph 59 of the Law for Economic Policy for the 2005 Budgetary Year (Legislative Amendments), 5765 - 2005.

(4) contravenes any of the provisions of section 21A or a regulation made thereunder;

(5) contravenes any of the provisions of section 21H;

(6) any person who contravenes any of the provisions of Section 25C;

(7) any person who contravenes any of the provisions of Section 25G.

26A. Powers of the Commissioner for Consumer Protection

Without derogating from the contents of Section 26, a contravention under sub- paragraph (2) and (4) to (7) of the aforesaid section shall also be deemed to be a contravention under the Consumer Protection Law 5741-1981, and the Commissioner for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade pursuant to the aforesaid law will, in respect of these offences, be vested with all the powers he has pursuant to Chapters E and F of that law.

27. The Law of the State

(a) The provisions of this Law shall apply to the State as well, however sections 14, 15, 17 and 17A shall not apply to an institution for the training of teachers which the State maintains.

(b) The Minister of Education and Culture may, at the proposal of the Council or on his own initiative and with the Council's agreement, and with the approval of the Committee on Education and Culture of the Knesset, prescribe rules regarding the freedom of action of an institution as set forth in section (a) and in those matters listed in section 15, in whole or in part.

28. The Education Ordinance shall not apply to an institution which has been accredited or to which a permit has been granted and an institution to which a license has been granted under this Law.

28A. Recognition of Degrees of Recognized Institutions in the Area

The Council may recognize the degree of an institution of higher education accredited or which has been granted a permit by the Council for Higher Education that has been established by the Commander, in its definition in the Emergency Regulations (Judea and Samaria and Gaza District - Judgment of Crimes and Legal Assistance) 5727 - 1967, on the basis of rules that it will determine for this purpose. The status of a recognized degree, as stated, conferred to a person or in general, is the same as the same recognized degree conferred by an institution that has been authorized to confer recognized degrees, as stated in sections 22 and 23.

29. Implementation

The Minister of Education and Culture is charged with the implementation of this Law and shall bring before the Government decisions of the Council requiring approval, and proposals of the Council, and shall bring before the President of the State every matter required to be brought before him under this Law.

30. Regulations

The Minister of Education and Culture may, after consultation with the Council, make regulations for the implementation of this Law and, inter alia, regulations as to reasonable times within which the handling of applications for the grant of a license for institutions and in applications for the accreditation of institutions - from the submission of the application until the decision thereon - shall be completed by the Council and the Government.

June , 2008