BGU students in reserve duty to get more ‘adjustment days'

University to provide students with “adjustment days,” even if they do not meet Council for Higher Education’s new criteria.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
Reserves 370 (photo credit: Courtesy IDF Spokesperson)
Reserves 370
(photo credit: Courtesy IDF Spokesperson)
Ben-Gurion University in the Negev announced on Monday that it will provide students serving in the reserves with “adjustment days,” even if they do not meet the Council for Higher Education’s new criteria that states they are eligible to receive them only if they serve in the reserves 10 or more days a year.
The adjustment days are designed to allow the students enough time to catch up on missed study material and assignments after serving in the reserves, where they did not have access to the Internet or other ways of keeping up with school work.
The initiative came after cuts were made to the national defense budget, following which most eligible students have been serving in average of four days a year in the reserves, according to BGU.
“Since the new rules completely ignore the students serving fewer than 10 days in the reserves, the university, in cooperation with the Student Union, has made a decision to help these students,” the Beersheba institution said.
BGU pointed out that according to a survey conducted by the National Union of Israeli Students, the number of students serving in the reserves at Ben-Gurion is among the highest in Israeli universities.
The university stressed that it is highly concerned with accommodating students and providing them academic rights and benefits. It employs three reserve coordinators whose job is to assist and accommodate students who have been called to serve in the military.
Two years ago, the institution had initiated benefits for students with children whose spouse is serving in the reserves, including facilitation in submitting assignments and taking exams, tutoring and priority for accommodation in dormitories, scholarships and summer courses.