Open University of Israel

Open University of Israel
Open University of Israel
האוניברסיטה הפתוחה
Open University of Israel.gif
Established 1974
Type Distance education, Public
Chancellor The Rt. Hon. Lord Woolf
President Hagit Messer Yaron
Vice-Chancellor Abraham Ginzburg
Principal David Klibanski
Vice-Presidents Ora Limor
Location Ra'anana, Israel
Website www.openu.ac.il
Campus of the Open University of Israel

The Open University of Israel (Hebrew: האוניברסיטה הפתוחה‎, HaUniversita HaPtukha) is a distance-education university in Israel. As of 2006, the Open University taught around 39,000 students.

The Open University of Israel has more students than any other academic institution in Israel. The administration is based in the city of Ra'anana. Students from all over the world attend the university. The university awards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, diplomas and certificates.

Contents

History

The Open University of Israel was planned in 1971, modeled after the UK's Open University. The first semester of studies commenced on October 17, 1976. In 1980, the Open University was officially recognized as an institute of higher education in Israel, and was granted the right to award bachelor's degrees (BA). In 1982, 41 graduates received BA diplomas in the university's first diploma ceremony.

In 1987, it had 11,000 students and 180 courses. In 1993, it had 20,000 students, 300 courses, and 405 new graduates. In 2002, it had 36,710 students enrolled. Up to 2003, more than 13,000 people graduated the university with a degree. In 1996, the university started a master's degree program.

In 2010, the Open University began offering online courses taught in Russian. Students may enroll for 24 courses, most of them with Israeli or Jewish content. Examinations will be held at Israeli consulates and Jewish Agency offices around the world.[1]

Undergraduate studies

The Rennert Study Center
Klauzner Building

The Open University is open to anyone who wishes to study towards a bachelor's degree, without any prerequisites or screening process. However, the Open University still has high standards and demands academic achievements from its graduates. Another way in which the Open University is open is in the study path it offers to its students. When enrolling in the university, the student does not need to decide the primary focus of his or her degree, nor to determine in advance the pace of the degree (how many years the studies will take). In fact, it is possible to take only a single course or several courses without receiving a degree, or to take several courses per semester, until finally enough courses relevant to a certain academic area have been taken to be eligible for a degree.

To achieve these goals, the Open University employs distance education. The university has no single central campus, or rigid schedules, making it especially well-suited to those who are preoccupied with a job, army service, or their family.

The most important aspect of studying in the Open University is self-study from books. Each of the university's courses has a specially-prepared book with the course material and exercises, from which the students study on their own. The Open University's books and teaching aids have become quite popular in Israel's other universities and colleges as well.

To supplement the self-study, there are occasional group meetings, where the students can ask the teacher questions about the material, and talk to other students who take the same course. These meetings take place throughout Israel, and are optional to attend. The students can also use the university's Internet site ("TELEM") to communicate with the teachers or with other students. Some courses also feature video cassettes, multimedia CDs, and other audio-visual aids. Recently, video-conferencing technology has also enabled viewing a real-time lecture without the students all coming to a single campus. For each course, students must complete several required assignments, and take a final exam. To obtain a degree, students must participate in one or more seminar courses, depending on the academic program. The examination of seminar papers is carried out by academic staff members of Israel's universities.

Graduate studies

The Open University also has master's degree programs for some of the areas it teaches, but they are not open to everyone and do have acceptance criteria. At present, the university does not offer doctoral programs.

Affiliation with other universities

The Open University, together with the other Israeli universities, has reached agreements that enable students to begin their undergraduate studies within the flexible framework of the Open University and after taking a cluster of courses, decide whether they would like to complete their degree at the Open University, or transfer to another institution.[2] The courses studied at the Open University will shorten the duration of degree studies at the other academic institution.

Since 2007, the transfer options are available to:

  • Tel Aviv University: Faculty of Humanities; Faculty of Social Sciences (School of Economics); Faculty of Engineering
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem: Faculty of Social Sciences (Department of Economics, Department of Sociology and Anthropology); Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences in Rehovot; Computer Science Department.
  • University of Haifa: Faculty of Humanities; Faculty of Social Sciences (Department of Economics)
  • Ben Gurion University of the Negev: The Faculty of Engineering Sciences (Computer Science); The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Department of Economics, Department of Behavioral Sciences).
  • Bar-Ilan University: Faculty of Social Sciences (Department of Economics)
  • The Technion: 14 faculties

See also

  • List of universities in Israel

References

External links

Coordinates: 32°11′19.21″N 34°53′16.09″E / 32.1886694°N 34.8878028°E / 32.1886694; 34.8878028


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Open University of Israel — Vorlage:Infobox Hochschule/Mitarbeiter fehltVorlage:Infobox Hochschule/Professoren fehlt Open University of Israel Gründung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Open University of Israel —    The Open University of Israel is a distance education university with no single campus and with full and part time students from throughout Israel. Its flexible schedule and emphasis on self study and the use of the Internet and… …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

  • Israel — /iz ree euhl, ray /, n. 1. a republic in SW Asia, on the Mediterranean: formed as a Jewish state May 1948. 5,534,672; 7984 sq. mi. (20,679 sq. km). Cap.: Jerusalem. 2. the people traditionally descended from Jacob; the Hebrew or Jewish people. 3 …   Universalium

  • Open universities — The term open university or open universities usually refers to a university with an open door academic policy, ie no entry requirements. The term may specifically refer to: The Open University in the UK Hellenic Open University (ΕΑΠ, Ελληνικό… …   Wikipedia

  • Israel Shahak — ( he. ישראל שחק, April 28, 1933 – July 2, 2001) was a Polish born Israeli Professor of Chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the former president of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights, and an outspoken critic of the Israeli… …   Wikipedia

  • University College London — Arms of University College London (no longer used in any official capacity) Motto Cuncti adsint meritaeque expectent praemia palmae (Latin) Motto in English Let all come …   Wikipedia

  • University and college admissions — University admission or college admissions is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution. In many countries …   Wikipedia

  • Israel — This article is about the modern country. For other uses, see Israel (disambiguation). State of Israel …   Wikipedia

  • University of Manchester — The University of Manchester Arms of the University of Manchester. The Manchester bee is the main symbol of Manchester. Motto Latin: Cognitio, sapientia, humanitas Motto in English Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity …   Wikipedia

  • University of Manchester — Vorlage:Infobox Hochschule/Professoren fehlt University of Manchester Motto Cognitio, sapientia, humanitas …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”