Support Arabic-Speaking Students

For financial, geographical, or cultural reasons, many Arabic-speakers struggle to attend Israel’s conventional universities. Many of our students from the Israeli Arab sector studied at high schools where Hebrew was not the language of instruction; some lack basic knowledge in mathematics and English as it is not emphasized enough in school, and some may not have completed high school at all. Many of our Arabic-speaking students are the first in their families to attend university. Since they often need to support themselves and their families, the full-time study programs and campus-based classes at “traditional” universities do not offer the flexibility they require. 

With nearly 7,000 Arabic-speakers, the OUI has one of the largest Israeli-Arab student populations among all Israeli universities. This is consistent with the OUI’s unique social mission of empowering Israeli society by making higher education accessible to all sectors of the population.  

In response to the above needs and challenges, the OUI has developed a unique program to support Israeli Arab students as they pursue higher education goals. The program’s unique features, which offer distance learning with maximum flexibility at an individualized pace, enable Arabic-speaking students to raise a family and continue working while pursuing academic studies. Scholarship support is particularly critical to enable this population of students to purse higher education.   

The Open University has made significant investments in providing multiple sources of academic and financial support to the university’s Arabic-speaking population, and course developers have invested much ingenuity and many resources to help weaker students, without lowering academic standards. Key elements of the program include:

  • Extra tutorials, books, online material and class recordings translated into Arabic 
  • Adapted syllabuses, anonymity, small group and same gender learning, studying from home and personal guidance
  • Tutorial groups at campuses near home
  • Access to course coordinators in person, by phone, SMS or e-mail
  • Extensive extra tutoring and specially trained guidance counsellors
  • Extra time on final exams in their initial six OUI courses, in addition to English exams; at all course levels for those with weak Hebrew skills
  • Additional time on all exams during the month of Ramadan

Scholarships are crucial for many Arab-Israeli students to enable them to pursue and succeed in university studies. Financial aid helps promising students from underserved populations pave a better future for themselves and their families. These scholarships also help fulfill the OUI’s mission of making higher education accessible to all, thereby creating social inclusion and academic empowerment. 

Thank you for considering supporting this important cause.